House Three is part of a larger complex that has been gradually built for the same family over time. It is the third of a total of six residences planned in 2016 through a master plan that includes not only housing but also amenities and green spaces at the center of the complex.
Project Name: House Three
Studio Name: Estudio Galera Architecture
Location: Ostende, Pinamar County. Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Lot area:620 m2
Building area: 182 m2
Project:2020
Project construction: 2020 – 2023
Photography: Diego Medina
Situated in a block near the sea, the dwelling sits on the blurred boundary between Ostende—the most densely populated area of the city, mostly occupied by the working class—and Mar de Ostende, a tourist area that acts as a transition between the sea and the city itself. A border or edge condition between these two areas is created not only in terms of security and privacy but also in the contrast between the fast-paced life of workers and the leisurely world of vacationers.
From a topographic standpoint, the lot features a 3.00 meter slope from the street at the front and rear section of the lot, a factor that adds to the ‘self-restriction’ of the master plan, where the center of the block is designated as an expansion space. Therefore, closing off to the streets and opening up to the green space involves closing the house to the west, leading to a loss of sunlight inside the dwelling but gaining it back in outdoor uses in a park that multiplies sixfold.
As this is a rental property, House Three must be versatile enough to accommodate a different generic user each week and designed in a way that can be segmented and divided into two in order to simultaneously host a family and a couple. Ambiguity and flexibility play a key role in this design.
This third house is envisioned as a continuation of the previous ones, following the same construction principles such as the use of high-quality materials and replacing the common brick used in the first two units with exposed concrete. This third iteration of the extended program aligns with the conceptual framework that shaped the ensemble: simple execution with local labor and minimal maintenance.
By sharing spatial explorations and dimensional relationships with the existing houses, a dialectical connection is established, where they are all assimilated in formal terms but contrasted in their materiality. House Three, like its predecessors, is designed using a limited catalog of materials: reinforced concrete, glass bricks, aluminum, glass, and horizontally stacked cement blocks that serve as visual filters rather than load-bearing elements.
The floor plan is divided into two inhabitable units that can function either as a single dwelling or be divided into two according to demand. This ‘bi-nuclear’ layout allows for the separation of the master bedroom on the ground floor to create an independent single-room unit or integrate with the rest of the house alongside the main volume housing public areas on the ground floor and two bedrooms and a studio overlooking the living room on the upper floor. This creates unique spatial relationships not found in the other houses of the complex.
Elevated off the ground, the house protects the walls from ground moisture. The outdoor spaces in the volumes open up to the natural courtyard formed by the setbacks and backyards of the six lots. The natural slope of the plot turns these extensions into raised terraces open to the interior garden. This generates a place for contemplating nature within the large communal space at the heart of the block, where birds and the flora planted by the owners’ parents forty years ago take center stage.
Rainwater is directed to large gargoyles that pour it into infiltration wells, creating sounds that, combined with the scent of wet grass and the songs of birds, offer a pleasant spectacle only observable from the house. Over time, it has been confirmed that the presence of the house and its occupants do not disrupt the original characteristics of the site.
