Chilean architectural duo Mauricio Pezo and Sofía von Ellrichshausen have curated a collection of their projects into a captivating monograph that presents built projects in parallel to conceptual designs.
Since founding Pezo von Ellrichshausen in 2002 in Southern Chile the pair have gained an international reputation for their serene, material-led designs, that are lyrically bound to often rural settings and challenge inhabitants to a beautifully abstract existence.
In the introduction, fellow Dutch architect Wiel Arets introduces Pezo von Ellrichshausen’s ability to mix art with architecture through a poetic blur of typologies and geographies, allowing the reader to traverse the projects from his personal perspective.
A living and dining room view inside Cien House in Concepción, Chile, built between 2009-2011.
Originally developed as part of an academic studio at IIT College of Architecture in Chicago led by Pezo and von Ellrichshausen and delivered as a lecture in 2014, the main essay by the architects reveals their theoretical approach that often inverts architectural and artistic values to see how far they can be interchanged.
The monograph also presents a visual feast – designed by Edwin van Gelder, founder of Mainstudio, each vibrant image occupies a full single page, with a wide variation between drawings, sketches, models and photographs.
The title of the book ‘Naïve Intention’ is taken from the resulting project of the Mies Crown Hall Americas Prize award, that was granted to the architects for Poli House on the Coliumo Peninsula. Poli House, a weathered concrete cube perched on the coast of Chile, is illustrated in the visuals of the book in different ways: a close up photograph of its rough facade sits in opposition to an image of a plaster and glass 1:20 scale model floating on a black background.
The monograph thus embodies the architects' manifesto of cross production between art, architecture and academia.
Pictured here, the Vara Pavilion, designed for the 15th International Architecture Exhibition, Venice Biennale, Venice, Italy, 2016 and the Guna House, Llacolen (San Pedro), Chile, built between 2010-2014.
Two essays introduce a series of images that span models, drawings, sketches and photograph, each with a brief caption labelling project, materials and location.
Pezo von Ellrichshausen’s 120 Doors Pavilion, Concepción, Chile, 2002-2003. Installation at Parque Ecuador, November 2003
INFORMATION
’Naïve Intention’ is published by Actar Publishers and IITAC Press book. For more information see the Actar Publishers website and the Pezo von Ellrichshausen website
-
Utilitarian men’s fashion that will elevate your everydayFrom Prada to Margaret Howell, utilitarian and workwear-inspired men’s fashion gets an upgrade for S/S 2024
-
Gerhard Richter unveils new sculpture at Serpentine SouthGerhard Richter revisits themes of pattern and repetition in ‘Strip-Tower’ at London’s Serpentine South
-
Vipp’s Scandinavian guesthouse offers a sleek setting amid a wild landscapeVipp Cold Hawaii is a Scandinavian guesthouse designed by architecture studio Hahn Lavsen in Denmark’s Thy National Park
-
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
-
This Chilean beach house comprises a series of pavilions set beneath a wooden roofWYND Architects has completed a Chilean beach house – a multigenerational family retreat, raised up above a site overlooking the Pacific Ocean
-
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
-
Elemental House is an architectural grand prize in Mexican charity raffleElemental House in Mexico, designed by Elemental-Alejandro Aravena, is to be offered as first prize in a raffle organised by charity Sorteos Tec
-
Luna House is a concrete Chilean live/work haven by Pezo von EllrichshausenPezo von Ellrichshausen invites us inside Luna, the studio's base, a geometric concrete masterpiece in the Chilean countryside
-
Studio CL, Chile: Wallpaper* Architects’ Directory 2022Wallpaper* Architects’ Directory is our annual round-up of exciting emerging architecture studios. Meet Studio CL from Chile, part of our 2022 list, and explore its boutique apartment building in Santiago
