Architects: Pacheco Architecture Studio (MGP Arquitectura y Urbanismo)
Area: 1,136 m²
Year: 2008
Photography: Courtesy of Pacheco Architecture Studio
Lead Architects: Felipe González-Pacheco, Álvaro Bohórquez
Project Team: José Cohecha, Camilo Correa, Gabriel Campuzano, Alejandro Méndez
City: Bogota
Country: Colombia
Twin House, a residential project designed by Pacheco Architecture Studio (recent rebranding of MGP Arquitectura y Urbanismo) in Bogota, features two family homes that ben independent living with shared spaces. The twin houses, designed for two related families, offer both privacy and communal areas, particularly through a central patio. Completed in 2008, this project constructed with concrete in an L-shape, the houses complement each other, allowing the families to live separately while maintaining a close connection.
The project embodies the dream of two families—one being the architect’s and the other his sister’s—each comprising four members: parents and two young children. The houses were crafted to allow these families to grow either independently or together. The design facilitates interaction between the cousins in the shared patio while ensuring the essential privacy of a home, with spaces for both communal living and solitude.
The site consists of two adjacent lots at a corner in the Santana neighborhood, located at the northeastern edge of Bogota, slightly above the picturesque Sabana. This location offers stunning views and enjoys a privileged climate—dry, sunny, and consistently around 15°C (59°F), where the changing light continually alters the color of the surrounding vegetation.
In this setting, the architect designed two nearly identical family homes—a pair of twin houses in a unique part of the city. These concrete structures, shaped into an L, depend on each other for individual functionality. Each house complements the other to define a central patio, providing privacy while fostering a sense of shared space.
The simple forms of the ochre concrete containers serve as the houses’ exterior shells, which open and close to mediate the relationship with the surrounding environment. The concrete walls bend and fold, showcasing the material’s plasticity and allowing the ight to play across the surfaces. Wood accents on the exterior provide a striking contrast. The second floor includes a final bent container, creating a space for the owner’s studio, isolated from the rest of the home.
The house are designed to integrate the inside with the outside. The concrete containers shape the patios, which cascade down the sloped terrain, blurring the lines between interior and exterior spaces.
The concrete shell encloses the drywall or wood partitions, creating homes that are robust on the outside yet adaptable on the inside, allowing the spaces to evolve with the changing needs of the families.
Project Gallery
Project Location
Address: Santa Ana Oriental, Usaquén, Bogotá, Colombia
Location is for general reference and may represent a city or country, not necessarily a precise address.
