The spectacular Pacific coastline is the setting for this Chilean beach house – a summer retreat by WYND Architects. Located amongst a scattering of other architect-designed properties in the Condominio Aguadulce, close to the town of Huentelauquén (about 300km north of Santiago), the house is arranged as a series of self-contained components, arranged around a courtyard and united beneath a lightweight, semi-translucent timber roof.
A Chilean beach house to bring its users together
The architects say that the spaces were designed to ‘unite the family and focus on three important aspects of the place, which are views, wind and sun’. The courtyard serves as a shelter from the elements, as well as provides covered circulation for all the independent elements.
The brief was to create a multigenerational space, and the accommodation is simply divided: a principal bedroom at one corner, flanked by three identically sized suites, with each room-set treated as its own standalone building. The longest façade faces west towards the ocean, and contains a living, dining and kitchen module, alongside a covered terrace with its own cooking facilities.
On the opposite side of the courtyard are the two children’s dormitories, each fitted with multiple bunks and set on either side of a games room. The final side of the square is a service area, with a separate kitchen, utility room and staff quarters.
All this provides ample space for ‘grandparents, children, spouses, brothers-in-law and grandchildren’, giving each generation their own independent area as well as places to come together. The wooden roof skin unites everything, acting as a sunshade as well as assisting with thermal insulation, and is supported by V-shaped columns that bisect the external terrace.
The dramatic landscape around Aguadulce is semi-arid, with strong coastal winds and rugged, desert-like vegetation, dotted with cacti and shrubs. The entire structure is raised up on pillars to provide a level platform for the building, with the internal courtyard treated as an additional room, complete with circular fire-pit.
-
Houston's Ismaili Centre is the most dazzling new building in America. Here's a look insideLondon-based architect Farshid Moussavi has created a new building open to all – and in the process, has created a gleaming new monument
-
A postcard from Irish Design Week 2025How Ireland's collaborative design culture, from Kilkenny's 60-year legacy to island circularity offers an expansive model for the future
-
Homespun pleasures are the order of the day at this warm Kraków restaurantLocated in the Kazimierz district, Dala Restaurang emerges as a space where homely character meets a love for nature and the simplicity of life
-
A Chilean pavilion cuts a small yet dramatic figure in a snowy, forested siteArchitects Pezo von Ellrichshausen are behind this compact pavilion, its geometric, concrete volume set within a forest in Chile’s Yungay region
-
A wooden lakeside cabin in southern Chile offers a new twist on the traditional barnClad in local Coigüe timber, this lakeside cabin by Tomás Tironi and Lezaeta Lavanchy on Lake Ranco, titled Casa Puerto Nuevo, adds contemporary flair to the local vernacular
-
This new lakeside house in Chile is a tour de force of contemporary timber constructionCazú Zegers’ lakeside house Casa Pyr is inspired by the geometry of fire and flames, and nestles into its rocky site
-
Tour a Chilean pavilion perched on the coast: a sanctuary for sleep and star-gazingAlgarrobo-based architecture studio Whale! has designed a Chilean pavilion for rest and relaxation, overlooking a nature reserve on the Pacific coast
-
House in the Trees offers a bird's eye view of the Chilean forestHouse in the Trees by Max Núñez and Stefano Rolla is an angular Chilean cabin in woods, touching the ground lightly
-
Chile’s Panguipulli Theatre brings purpose-built architecture to the learning experiencePanguipulli Theatre, a community-centred cultural space in Chile's Región de los Ríos, combines purpose-built architecture and learning
-
A modern barnhouse makes a faceted form on an exposed site in Southern ChileEstudio Diagonal’s barnhouse project, Ridge House, is a stripped back private home that uses everyday materials and simple geometry to maximise interior space
-
Industrialised building system prototype proposes solution for urgent housing needsWe examine an industrialized building system prototype proposal by Chilean architecture practices Ignacio Rojas Hirigoyen Architects and Cristian Dominguez Fernandez
