Project Name
Bahia Azul House
Posted in
Residential
Location
Los Vilos
Chile
Project Team
Felipe Assadi + Francisca Pulido / Alejandra Araya
Completed
2014
Detailed Information
Project NameBahia Azul House Posted inResidentialLocation
Los Vilos
Chile
Project TeamFelipe Assadi + Francisca Pulido / Alejandra Araya Completed2014

Located on a cove near the coastal community of Los Vilos in Chile, Bahia Azul House sits atop a rocky promontory overlooking the Pacific—although it would be more accurate to describe its position as reclining. Designed by Santiago-based studio Felipe Assadi Arquitectos, the house’s rectilinear form is slanted to accommodate the slope of the terrain. This inclination, combined with the irregular openings of the sea-facing facade, gives the impression, when viewed from across the bay or the adjacent pebble beach, of a deformed modernist structure. It's as if the building humbly kowtows to the power of the landscape.

The two-storey building is accessed through an irregularly paved pathway from the hillside on the back and features an elongated plan that unfolds as a stepped sequence of spaces across several semi-levels, in what is a relatively conventional layout which the slanted facade mischievously hides from the outside.

Photo by Fernando Alda.

Photo by Fernando Alda.

The upper level houses the living and dining rooms in an open-plan layout, adjoined by the kitchen and one of the bedrooms on either side. All the spaces open up onto a wide balcony that runs along the length of the building following the stepped layout of the interior. Buffering the balcony, the concrete facade features irregularly cut large openings that frame the views of the picturesque landscape in different ways depending on your location in the house.

Photo by Fernando Alda.

Photo by Fernando Alda.

Photo by Fernando Alda.

Photo by Fernando Alda.

Photo by Fernando Alda.

Photo by Fernando Alda.

Photo by Fernando Alda.

Photo by Fernando Alda.

Photo by Fernando Alda.

Photo by Fernando Alda.

On the lower level, which is built against the rocky hillside, two more bedrooms and a lounge area follow the stepped layout of the upper floor. The views of these spaces are framed by a continuous, ribbon-shaped, slanted opening, created by the upper level's cantilevered balcony and a stone wall buffering a narrow patio that runs underneath it.

The interior design is characterized by a minimalist, modernist elegance that reflects the bare, coastal landscape outside. Marble
floors, exposed board-formed concrete walls and white plastered ceilings are complemented by a palette of natural, earthy hues that pick up the rawness of the rocky exteriors, as well as a selection of modernist furniture that altogether bestow a timeless
elegance.

Photo by Fernando Alda.

Photo by Fernando Alda.

Photo by Fernando Alda.

Photo by Fernando Alda.

Photo by Fernando Alda.

Photo by Fernando Alda.

Photo by Fernando Alda.

Photo by Fernando Alda.

Photo by Fernando Alda.

Photo by Fernando Alda.

Photo by Fernando Alda.

Photo by Fernando Alda.

Photo by Fernando Alda.

Photo by Fernando Alda.

Photo by Fernando Alda.

Photo by Fernando Alda.

Photo by Fernando Alda.

Photo by Fernando Alda.

Photo by Fernando Alda.

Photo by Fernando Alda.

Bahia Azul House by Felipe Assadi Arquitectos in Los Vilos, Chile

1 of