Despite its strong rectilinear form, a new house in a Buenos Aires suburb by local architect Luciano Kruk achieves an air of transparency and lightness. Designed for a young couple, the house—an elongated box surrounded by a grove of willow trees and a vast green lawn—is composed of a simple material palette: wood, glass, and concrete. While the concrete “roots the building in time and place,” says Kruk, wood details lend warmth, and generous glazing connects the inside with out.

Along the front facade, Kruk placed vertical fins of lapacho wood planks to provide shade and privacy while maintaining views. Together, the fins—arranged in a rhythmic sequence along the concrete structure—make the house appear as a single rectilinear volume as you approach; the building’s board-formed-concrete walls and black flagstone base seem to disappear into the background. This effect is enhanced by a moat-like rectangular pool that extends from the front facade’s base and spans its entire width, serving as a natural buffer between the front lawn and the entrance, with a concrete bridge to the front door. “The intention,” says Kruk, “was to make the house look as if it is floating above water.”