Archello Awards 2026 · Enter your projects before 30 September 2026
Archello Awards 2026 · Enter your projects before 30 September 2026

V+D SET

ANTECEDENTS This work is the result of a process that began in 2004 with the construction of a summer house in the forest of Mar Azul.


It was necessary to intervene in a territory of great scenic beauty, owner of a powerful wild presence that is gradually becoming domesticated due to the proliferation of houses with a formal search from bucolic to picturesque which in nothing refers to that environment or to this present . The project was implemented as an opportunity to propose shapes, materials and alternative uses in tune with this particular environment. The search is then oriented toward a propositional architecture of a more leisured use of the dwelling, whose materiality and formalization were the result of a belonging will to that pre-existing reality.


This is how the recognition of the particular microclimate of the maritime forest of Mar Azul and the atmospheres it recreates, as well as the need to concrete the construction from a distance, were determinants of aesthetic-constructive decisions which defined the work.


The need to capture the light in the dense forest led to conceive housing as a "semi covered" and then to resolve it with large panes of glass, which will enable views from inside in all directions and from outside would reflect the landscape allowing the house to mimic therewith. The decision to accelerate the execution time to allow monitoring the work at 400 miles away defined the exposed concrete construction. It was evaluated that the prevailing shade allowed using this material because it provides sufficient thermal protection from spring to late autumn. Its winterization, given its status as summer home, was not relevant (though of course it was planned) and the hydrophobic insulation could be solved with a very compact concrete and a study of the envelope shape so that the rainwater evacuation will take place very quickly. It was also expected that the expressive quality of exposed concrete molded within a formwork of wooden boards may result from a forceful and mimetic presence at once, allowing the work to coexist in harmony with the landscape.


In short, a skin of only two materials - concrete and glass - turned out appropriate to solve the integration with the landscape and to respond to formal, structural, functional, maintenance and termination issues.


With these concepts was designed and built the V+D Set.


MEMORY María Victoria Besonías


The place These are two lots in a dune of pronounced relief, suitable to build two housing units in each. Although they find themselves surrounded by a thick forest of conifers they face scarce small-sized specimens of their own, since they were planted few years ago.


The commission The request of the clients was a set of 4 housing units for rent throughout the year, with a pool area, solarium and a common storage area. The units should be isolated from each other and count with expansions, a grill sector and garage. The number of rooms available in each unit would be part of the studio’s proposal as well as the program for the unit’s requirements. The square footage to be built would be the maximum allowed under code. The proposal El proyecto resultante tenía que cumplir con algunos objetivos primordiales: preservar la escasa arboleda existente, respetar el relieve del lote no sólo por mantener el paisaje natural, sino también para reducir costos de movimiento de arena y hacer más interesante y variada la relación entre las viviendas y el territorio y por último hacer viable el emprendimiento, ajustando la ecuación costo beneficio ya que se trata de una inversión con fines comerciales.


Se propuso entonces utilizar un único tipo de vivienda que espejado y ubicado a diferentes alturas siguiendo el relieve del terreno, aporte variedad al conjunto. La ubicación en planta de las unidades responde a la búsqueda de privacidad entre las mismas La unidad es un cubo (al que se le adosa como mochila el volumen de los baños) de rigurosa modulación, de doble altura y dividido en cuatro unidades espaciales diferenciadas por la ubicación de la escalera, el equipamiento fijo y las alturas variables.


The functional organization You enter the apartment through the axis of the plan. On one side appears the living room, divided into two sections of distinct use by the fireplace and a variation of free heights. On the other side is the dining room and kitchen with access to a private expansion with a grill area. Up and opposing are located the accesses to the two bedrooms, the main room with private bathroom and terrace for exclusive use.


The construction The set was built with slabs and partitions of exposed concrete made within pine boards formwork. H21 concrete was used with the addition of a fluidifiant so that this mixture, with little amount of water to harden, results very compact and doesn’t require sealing. The floor cloths are also from concrete screed divided with aluminum plates. The bathrooms’ coatings are of venecita. The decks on natural ground and terraces are made of treated pine and protected with impregnating agent. The openings are of dark bronze anodized aluminum. The heating system combines salamanders with hot air equipment.


The furniture Except the beds, couches and chairs, the rest of the equipment of this house is solved in concrete.

V+D SET

V+D SET
Inés Tanoira

ANTECEDENTS This work is the result of a process that began in 2004 with the construction of a summer house in the forest of Mar Azul.


It was necessary to intervene in a territory of great scenic beauty, owner of a powerful wild presence that is gradually becoming domesticated due to the proliferation of houses with a formal search from bucolic to picturesque which in nothing refers to that environment or to this present . The project was implemented as an opportunity to propose shapes, materials and alternative uses in tune with this particular environment. The search is then oriented toward a propositional architecture of a more leisured use of the dwelling, whose materiality and formalization were the result of a belonging will to that pre-existing reality.


This is how the recognition of the particular microclimate of the maritime forest of Mar Azul and the atmospheres it recreates, as well as the need to concrete the construction from a distance, were determinants of aesthetic-constructive decisions which defined the work.


The need to capture the light in the dense forest led to conceive housing as a "semi covered" and then to resolve it with large panes of glass, which will enable views from inside in all directions and from outside would reflect the landscape allowing the house to mimic therewith. The decision to accelerate the execution time to allow monitoring the work at 400 miles away defined the exposed concrete construction. It was evaluated that the prevailing shade allowed using this material because it provides sufficient thermal protection from spring to late autumn. Its winterization, given its status as summer home, was not relevant (though of course it was planned) and the hydrophobic insulation could be solved with a very compact concrete and a study of the envelope shape so that the rainwater evacuation will take place very quickly. It was also expected that the expressive quality of exposed concrete molded within a formwork of wooden boards may result from a forceful and mimetic presence at once, allowing the work to coexist in harmony with the landscape.


In short, a skin of only two materials - concrete and glass - turned out appropriate to solve the integration with the landscape and to respond to formal, structural, functional, maintenance and termination issues.


With these concepts was designed and built the V+D Set.


MEMORY María Victoria Besonías


The place These are two lots in a dune of pronounced relief, suitable to build two housing units in each. Although they find themselves surrounded by a thick forest of conifers they face scarce small-sized specimens of their own, since they were planted few years ago.


The commission The request of the clients was a set of 4 housing units for rent throughout the year, with a pool area, solarium and a common storage area. The units should be isolated from each other and count with expansions, a grill sector and garage. The number of rooms available in each unit would be part of the studio’s proposal as well as the program for the unit’s requirements. The square footage to be built would be the maximum allowed under code. The proposal El proyecto resultante tenía que cumplir con algunos objetivos primordiales: preservar la escasa arboleda existente, respetar el relieve del lote no sólo por mantener el paisaje natural, sino también para reducir costos de movimiento de arena y hacer más interesante y variada la relación entre las viviendas y el territorio y por último hacer viable el emprendimiento, ajustando la ecuación costo beneficio ya que se trata de una inversión con fines comerciales. Se propuso entonces utilizar un único tipo de vivienda que espejado y ubicado a diferentes alturas siguiendo el relieve del terreno, aporte variedad al conjunto. La ubicación en planta de las unidades responde a la búsqueda de privacidad entre las mismas La unidad es un cubo (al que se le adosa como mochila el volumen de los baños) de rigurosa modulación, de doble altura y dividido en cuatro unidades espaciales diferenciadas por la ubicación de la escalera, el equipamiento fijo y las alturas variables.


The functional organization You enter the apartment through the axis of the plan. On one side appears the living room, divided into two sections of distinct use by the fireplace and a variation of free heights. On the other side is the dining room and kitchen with access to a private expansion with a grill area. Up and opposing are located the accesses to the two bedrooms, the main room with private bathroom and terrace for exclusive use.


The construction The set was built with slabs and partitions of exposed concrete made within pine boards formwork. H21 concrete was used with the addition of a fluidifiant so that this mixture, with little amount of water to harden, results very compact and doesn’t require sealing. The floor cloths are also from concrete screed divided with aluminum plates. The bathrooms’ coatings are of venecita. The decks on natural ground and terraces are made of treated pine and protected with impregnating agent. The openings are of dark bronze anodized aluminum. The heating system combines salamanders with hot air equipment.


The furniture Except the beds, couches and chairs, the rest of the equipment of this house is solved in concrete.

Brand description
Besonias Almeida arquitectos is an studio integrated by Argentinian architects María Victoria Besonias and Guillermo de Almeida. They both are engaged in the profession independently since 1975. María Victoria Besonías was born on October 18th, 1947 in Madrid, Spain. She earned a degree in Architecture and Urbanism from University of Buenos Aires in 1975, is a lecturer at FADU, the University of Buenos Aires and a member of the jury’s panel of FADEA (Federación Argentina de Entidades de Arquitectura). She serves as an advisor on urban issues and as a judge for architecture competitions. In 2012 has been honored by the Senators Chamber of the Province of Buenos Aires with the Trajectory and Merit Award. Lectures: 2017 – CROSSINGS, Architecture and City Meetings – organized by Propuesta Decente and Un día/Una arquitecta, Estudio Aisenson, Buenos Aires City, Argentina. 2016 – Arquitectura Siete (A7) Meetings – “Architecture from a Gender Perspective”, organized by Arquitectura Siete (A7) at the FAU / UNLP, La Plata, Argentina. 2016 – Association of Architects of Junín, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. 2016 – Annual International Congress of Architecture “Perspective – Consolidating Goals” organized by the Union of Students in Architecture, UEPA, jointly with the School of Architecture of the Autonomous University of Sinaloa, Culiacan, Mexico. 2015 – XXIV International Symposium “Crosscurrent- Architecture and Gender: Challenges in Today’s Society” Faculty of Architecture, University Autonomous University of Nuevo León. 2015- Lecture “To build protecting the unity of the territory”, III International Symposium Villa Gesell “Urbanismo de las Orillas” CAPBA Villa Gesell, IX District, Buenos Aires, Argentina. 2015- Lectures cycle, Azul’s Architects Association, CAPBA VIII District, Buenos Aires, Argentina. 2014 – Series of Architecture Lectures: Works and Processes, organized by CAPBA District 6, Buenos Aires, Argentina 2014 – Lectures Cycle: Thinking and Making at FAUD Auditorium (University Campus), National University of Córdoba, Córdoba, Argentina. 2014 – Program of Free Chairs (as assistant professor), Faculty of Architecture, Planning and Design, National University of Rosario, Argentina. 2013 – Argentinean Architecture Week in Manizales – Colombia National University. 2012 – XVIII Jury: 2017 – CAPBA Award 2017 – Built Architecture. Category: Multifamily Housing, organized by CAPBA Superior Council within the framework of the VIII International Biennial of Architecture and Urbanism (BIAU17). 2017 – FADU BIENNIAL Professional Prize Contest 2017, organized within the framework of the 2017 FADU Biennial. 2016 – Provincial Ideas Competition. Re-qualification and New Urban Image of H. Yrigoyen Avenue and surroundings/access door of the Municipality of Avellaneda, organized by CAP 2014 – UFLO Award Best Latinamerican Housing / Sponsored by SUMMA+ 2014 – CIMA Competition ( Puerto Madryn’s Industrial Chamber Building) – College of Architects of the Province of Chubut, Jury designated by the participants. 2014 – ARQUIFADUCompetition – Technological Center Design, Ciudad Evita, La Matanza. 2014 – Headquarters Association of Magistrates and Officers of the Trenque Lauquen Judicial Department Preliminary Competition. 2014 – Ideas Science Park National Competition. 2012 – Preliminary Competition for the construction of the new building of the Campana’s Public Library. 2011 – Berazategui Civic Square Draft. 2008 – Pedestrian Priority National Ideas Competition. 2007 – Architecture National Award SCA Clarín for Best Student Projects. 2006 – New Headquarters of the School of Psychology, UBA (Pavilion No. 5, University Campus) Winner Project. Guillermo de Almeida was born on November 12th, 1945 in Buenos Aires. He earned a degree in Architecture and Urbanism from the University of Buenos Aires in 1975. He taught architecture at the University of Buenos Aires and the University of Morón. He is a member of the College of Buenos Aires High Council of Architecture and their jury’s panel. Guillermo was a guest lecturer at Brasilia’s 2006 biennial. He participated in the 2007 CPAU young lecturers' series, the 2008 Architects’ College of Carlos Paz Conference and the 2008 Commune of Cabalango Conference. He was also a guest at the 2008 Devolution Conference, organized by The Architects' College of Mendoza. Awards obtained as BAKarquitectos holders XVIII Bienal Panamericana de Quito 2012. Selección de Casa Besonías Almeida Primer Premio a la Vivienda Individual SCA 2012. Sociedad Central de Arquitectos. Casa Franz Segundo Premio Bienal de Arquitectura Urbanismo, Investigación y Teoría 2011. Colegio de Arquitectos de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Casa JD Premios ARQ a la Arquitectura Argentina 2011, Mención en la categoría Escala Menor. Casa Cher Primer Premio Bienal de Arquitectura, Urbanismo, Investigación y Teoría 2009. Colegio de Arquitectos de la Provincia de Buenos Aires.

V+D SET

V+D SET
Inés Tanoira

THE PLACE
These are two lots in a dune of pronounced relief, suitable to build two housing units in each. Although they find themselves surrounded by a thick forest of conifers they face scarce small-sized specimens of their own, since they were planted few years ago.

 

 THE COMMISSION
The request of the clients was a set of 4 housing units for rent throughout the year, with a pool area, solarium and a common storage area. The units should be isolated from each other and count with expansions, a grill sector and garage. The number of rooms available in each unit would be part of the studio’s proposal as well as the program for the unit’s requirements. The square footage to be built would be the maximum allowed under code.

 

THE FUNCTIONAL ORGANIZATION

You enter the apartment through the axis of the plan. On one side appears the living room, divided into two sections of distinct use by the fireplace and a variation of free heights. On the other side is the dining room and kitchen with access to a private expansion with a grill area.


Up and opposing are located the accesses to the two bedrooms, the main room with private bathroom and terrace for exclusive use.

 

THE CONSTRUCTION
The set was built with slabs and partitions of exposed concrete made within pinewood formwork. H21 concrete was used with the addition of a fluidifiant so that this mixture, with little amount of water to harden, results very compact and doesn’t require sealing. The floor cloths are also from concrete screed divided with aluminum plates. The bathrooms’ coatings are of venecita. The decks on natural ground and terraces are made of treated pine and protected with impregnating agent. The openings are of dark bronze anodized aluminum. The heating system combines salamanders with hot air equipment.

 

THE FURNITURE
Except the beds, couches and chairs, the rest of the equipment of this house is solved in concrete.

Brand description

Luciano Kruk was born in Buenos Aires. He studied at the University of Buenos Aires, obtaining the title of architect in 2000. His work has obtained recognitions such as the SCA-CPAU Award for his work Casa L4 within the framework of the XVI Buenos Aires Architecture Biennial (2016). He has participated in international events and exhibitions such as 'Architecture Week Prague 2015', where he was selected as representative of Argentina in the 9th Festival of Architecture and Urbanism to be held in Prague, Czech Republic, and the XXI Pan-American Architecture Biennial in Quito ( 2018). 

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