Featured Houses

Villa Morabeza by OsArquitectura

Costa Rica

Architects & Firms

OsArquitectura

Site size: 20,800 square feet

Project size: 8,800 square feet

Program: The architects designed a vacation home for a family with roots in Belgium.

Location: Guanacaste Province, Costa Rica

Solution: The beachfront house faces north, with views to the mountains across Playa Tamarindo Bay. Generous glazing and access to a spacious front courtyard and back patio blur the lines between interior and exterior living. The architects integrated passive design strategies such as cross ventilation and natural lighting into interior spaces.

Construction and materials: The building system consists of prefabricated profiles in cold-formed steel mounted onto a structural slab, permitting the explorations of flat roofs in a region where pitched roofing is the norm. A series of mechanical and electrical systems minimize energy consumption, including a treatment plant for all wastewater produced by the house, which is redistributed underground to irrigate a garden. A network of 114 photovoltaic panels are installed on site.

Additional Information

Completion date: January 2018

Gross square footage: 8,000 square feet

Total project cost: withheld

Client: Toni Vandewalle

Credits

Architect:

OsArquitectura
Edificio Plaza Langosta Local C1, Playa Langosta, Distrito Tamarindo, Canton Santa Cruz, Costa Rica
+506 2653 2853

Personnel in architect's firm who should receive special credit:

John Osborne, principal
Pablo Quiros, project architect
Sasha Nash, project architect

Architect of record:

John Osborne

Associate architect(s):

Pablo Quiros

Interior designer:

MU DESIGNS Muriel Haerens

Engineers: S3 INGENIEROS Ing. Ricardo Solano V. (Structural)

CIRCUITO S.A. Ing. Gustavo Herrera Musmanni (MEP)

General contractor:

FRAME PROJECTS Rémi Martin, Nicolas Huet

Photographer:

Fernando Alda Fotografía de Arquitectura C/Brasil 22, Bajo 41013 Sevilla (España) Tel: +34 954614723 www.fernandoalda.com

Consultant:

Landscape: GREENGOGARDENS Steve Gordy

Lighting: OsArquitectura

Other: SWISSOL Guillermo Ramirez (solar hot water system); CR SOLAR SOLUTIONS Ben Shalev (photovoltaic electric system); ELOY Nicolas Huet (water treatment and management systems)