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Location: Maitencillo, Chile
Project size: 1,507 square feet

Program: Situated in the coastal city of Maitencillo, about two hours northwest of Chile’s capital of Santiago, El Claro is a beachside retreat for a couple, both actors. The spacious common areas have “a scenographic character to welcome social life,” says architect Raúl Herrera Daniel, who practices in nearby town of Valparaíso.

Design Solution: El Claro embodies the most familiar and cherished of residential forms—a triangle atop a rectangle, drawn from six simple lines without lifting the pencil from paper. But here, instead of a door and a picture-frame window, expansive panes of glass cap the gable end and flood the interiors with daylight. Framed and clad in timber, the simple house stands out in the Chilean steppes.

Photo © Aryeh Kornfeld

Structure and Materials: Inside, pine lines the floors and walls up to the ceilings. The foundation and floor slabs are reinforced concrete, and inside the double-skin envelope of fiber cement and wood cladding, there is an energy-efficient glass-wool insulation layer. As well as cutting heating costs, this cavity wall conceals drainpipes.

Additional Information
Completion date: February 2021
Site size: .23 acres
Total construction cost: $200,000 (construction)
Client/Owner: Withheld

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Photos © Aryeh Kornfeld

Images courtesy Raul Herrera Daniel; click to enlarge