House In The Trees / Luciano Kruk

Architects: Luciano Kruk
Area: 185 m²
Year: 2018
Photographs: Daniela Mac Adden
Manufacturers: Barugel azulay, Blainstein, FV Ferrum, Fábrica de Luz, Nivel
Project Coordination: Belén Ferrand
Work Coordination: Leandro Rossi, Fernando Casaux Alsina, Dan Saragusti
Collaborators: Andrés Conde Blanco, Denise Andreoli
Memory Edition: Mariana Piqué
Province: Buenos Aires
Country: Argentina

House in the Trees, a residential building designed by Luciano Kruk in Costa Esmeralda, harmoniously integrates with its natural surroundings. Located near Pinamar, the house is set back from the coastline, ensuring privacy and minimal environmental impact. Featuring exposed concrete, glass, and dark bronze frames, it includes a master bedroom, two secondary bedrooms, a social area, and an elevated swimming pool. The design emphasizes natural lighting, privacy, and a seamless connection with the landscape, reflecting a durable and austere architectural approach.

House in the Trees is designed for Barrio Marítimo II in Costa Esmeralda, located thirteen kilometers north of Pinamar and four hours from Buenos Aires. This neighborhood runs parallel to the sea and is separated from the coastline by a dense screen of pine trees, creating a setback that meets provincial regulations. The lot’s highest point is at the front, sloping downward away from the street, similar to how dunes merge with the sea.

The clients requested a leisure home with rental potential, including one master bedroom, two secondary bedrooms, a social area, and an outdoor pool. They wanted the house to blend with the woods and have minimal environmental impact. The house is supported by a minimal tread structural volume that contains the entrance, service, and engine rooms and is situated at the lot’s highest level. It was set back further than the regulations required to enhance privacy and increase glazed surfaces. Surrounded by pinewood, the house seamlessly merges with the natural landscape.

To meet the request for minimal maintenance, the house is constructed entirely of exposed concrete and glass. Dark bronze anodized aluminum was used for the exterior frames to make them visually unobtrusive, highlighting the contrast between the openings and the concrete shell. The common areas are on the first floor, elevated two meters above the natural terrain, with the bedrooms situated on a higher level. A wall rising from the ground to the rooftop organizes both floor plans. The service areas are positioned toward the street, while the primary living spaces are sheltered, facing the woods.

The lower floor features low partitions on the sides and front but opens at the rear with full-height framings that lead to a terrace. This terrace, nestled under the pine canopies, extends the living and dining areas. Most of the structure is centered within the floor plan, making it nearly invisible from the outside, with only a few metallic columns around the shell’s perimeter. The side partitions extend up to the rooftop, ensuring bedroom privacy from neighboring houses.

Natural lighting was prioritized, particularly for the staircase area, with a skylight installed on the rooftop. Cantilevered slabs serve as eaves over both levels, shielding the front of the house from the vertical north sunrays. The swimming pool, designed as an elevated and independent structure, is detached from the natural terrain and connected to the house through the social area’s extension. To maintain visual continuity between the house and the surrounding vegetation, the pool is positioned perpendicularly to the main structure.

House in the Trees aimed to integrate seamlessly with the woods, capturing the scents, textures, and visuals of the lush natural environment, which is both powerful and soothing to the senses. The upper volume appears as a compact, massive floating box above the lighter, transparent lower floor. The austere and honest use of stony materials ensures durability, while the architectural synthesis of the floor plans reflects a lifestyle in harmony with nature.