Golfo de Darien House, designed and brought to life by Cristobal Vial Arquitectos in the heart of Las Condes, Chile, is stunning mixed-materials residence that provides guests with a beautifully green golf course view.
This project was one of rehabilitation and expansion on an old house that was originally built in 1970. The house is nestled into the commune of Las Condes in the city of Santiago, Chile. It is part of a grouping of 25 one-story houses that are arranged in an adjoining structure. This was an innovative idea for its time because it made better use of available land, left space for each house to have two independent garden patches of their own, and created a walled yard thanks to the direction of the arrangement.
Now, Golfo de Darien house specifically is owned by a young family with three children who wanted to adapt the space to their particular needs a little better. First, design teams took down several extensions that had been added to the original house in all different materials that bore some natural wear and tear thanks to weather and the passage of time. This stripped the structure a little and gave them more of a blank starting point.
Next, builders took down the connection walls that adjoined this house to the ones around it, thereby opening the space up to a stunning view of a golf course on lands below where the house sits. This also increased visible sky and the amount of natural light coming into the yard at any given time. Removing a chimney and replacing that with a singular separating wall made sure the house is still afforded some privacy without feeling closed off as it did before.
In order to increase the amount of natural light in the interior space (as well as to offset the heavy masonry of the house’s concrete frame), designers added several lovely skylights into the ceiling. Several monolithic walls, like the one near a newly installed extra bathroom, were also replaced with thick glazed glass paneling, making the home feel airy and more spacious without sacrificing too much privacy in personal areas like the bedrooms.
Just because the house has been largely disconnected from its original adjoining fellows doesn’t mean it no longer shares any space with them at all. A curved wall of exposed concrete leads from the door of the house and straight into a new parking sector and a defined barbecue area that is purposely placed to invite the presence of neighbours and guests, like a more public space.
Within their update, designers made the house more efficient and eco-friendly overall in their process. This happened thanks to the installation of a high efficiency aerothermal heat pump and a radian slab system, as well as the incorporation of thermopanel crystals. This lets the house be heated and powered without making a huge impact on its surrounding environment.
In its private outdoor space, the house features a lovely wooden deck that was built in the place three original divided courtyards used to stand. This area combines wood, stone, glass, steel, and exposed concrete but also bears a heavy green presence, making the seating area feel contemporary but also well integrated into the green space surrounding the home.
Photographs by: Cristobal Vial
