‘little house on the river’ forms an elevated shelter on a steep-sloping plot in argentina

light steel structure bears a sustainable treehouse in argentina

‘Little House on the River’ by Pablo Senmartin Arquitectos stands on a steep sloping plot near the San Antonio river in Cordoba, Argentina. Following an environmentally conscious design approach, the team constructs a shelter in direct contact with the forest of Mayu Sumaj mountain. The house sits on the lower part of the plot between the trees and the stream, close to the street. Forming through a system of natural resources and interactions, the reduced infrastructure consolidates the idea of a refuge in a quiet environment. A tensile steel structure of the treehouse allows horizontal development of the supported volume, parallel to the street and above the natural terrain, giving off a sense of lightness to the elevated shelter and setting up an immediate visual relationship with the surrounding foliage.

all images by ©Andrés Domínguez unless stated otherwise

dry assembly reduces the environmental impact of the structure

Intended for two-person use, the minimum sustainable house covers a 50 sqm area along with a covered gallery of 30 sqm. The residence can be accessed from the north facade that integrates with the exterior zone and connects with the upper part of the lot. The roofed passage functions as an expansion of the interior to the exterior space and provides climatic protection towards the northeast. The layout arranges a service core dividing the social common area from the private resting zones.

The shelter’s assembled openings set in vertical rhythm produce cross ventilation, while small grids on the floor introduce cool natural air from the vegetation layer. Implementing a system of sustainable and bioclimatic strategies, the architectural studio applied dry assembly technology to construct the steel framework of the treehouse. The method reduces the environmental impact of the structure, while, also, allowing its dismantlement or expansion without excessive material or energy loss. The exterior cladding is resolved with a double layer of fiber cement plates placed vertically and painted in dark color imitating the rocks and trees of the mountain forest. The single roof made of ventilated sheet material applies double waterproof insulation and water lines that allow evaporation to escape.