Swett House is a private residence designed by Prado Arquitectos.
It is located in Chiguayante, Chile.
Swett House by Prado Arquitectos:
“The project is located on a site located at the bottom of a narrow valley surrounded by hills; in the northeastern end of the Schaub de Chiguayante subdivision; a territory with short periods of sun exposure, so the conceptual idea of the project was to try to gain height to improve the sun exposure in all rooms.
The location of the volumes on the ground sought to maximize its available surface, as from the 1295 m2 (13,939 ft2) of land, 40% is part of the steep slopes of the hill.
The idea was to create a sort of series of columns made of small steel profiles, and a glass enclosure to contain the social areas; living room, dining room, barbecue and kitchen on the first level, maintaining a close relationship between the exterior and interior space, plus supporting with minimal materiality (steel and glass) the platform for the upper level that houses the private premises as living room and bedrooms.
The entire second level of the building is designed in wood, from the mezzanine made of I JOIST beams for larger spans, to the partition walls and roof.
The horizontal fenestration, with long, transparent and continuous planes framed with steel plates like a visor, ratify the horizontal volumes that make up the house, like the parking and covered walkway to the house and the two wings of bedrooms, all trying to break free of the anchorage of the ground, looking for an expression of lightness, which does not touch the hill or the site.”
Photos by: Daniel Pinilla