Chilean architects Iván Bravo, Martín Rojas and Gino León have collaborated on this beautifully pared down seaside retreat in the country’s coastal region of Navidad. The house, a cross between a cabin and a beach hut, is called El Gauchal and spans three levels defined by a utilitarian, timber-heavy, back-to-basics aesthetic.
This structure sits just a few meters from the beach. It was created for four families that came together to build a small holiday gateway to share and enjoy jointly and separately. As a result, the timber building includes a large, double-height open plan living and entertaining space and four large bedrooms, which can easily sleep a total of 14 people. At the same time, the project reads as a relatively small beach house from the outside, keeping things clean and simple within an area of about 110 sq m.
In terms of the volume creation and overall composition, the architects decided to eschew the typical cabin typology that dictates a structure that is low and close to the ground, in favour of going tall. The design sits on a fairly narrow footprint and extends upwards like a small, timber tower – affording privacy between bedrooms (creating level changes and distance between the different families’ private rooms), as well as long views towards the ocean and surrounding wooded area.
Both interiors and exteriors are fully clad in exposed wood that appears rough and weathered. This, explain the architects, was a direct response to the context. ‘[The exterior] is an inert and atemporal grey that tends to eliminate the newly built status of the house,’ they say. Meanwhile the interior ‘is a pristine white that is exposed to the extreme conditions of the coast, like a cuirass or plumage that shines while also protecting.’ §
