Plan:b Arquitectos creates brick vacation home in Colombian tropical forest

Brothers Felipe and Federico Mesa of Plan:b Arquitectos have designed a brick and perforated concrete holiday home for their families in the rural town of La Siria, Colombia.

House in La Siria, which sits on a narrow patch of land abutting the tropical forest and mountains around 120 kilometres south west of Medellin, was designed to be as compact as possible while using local material and building techniques.

Brothers Felipe and Federico Mesa designed House in La Siria for their families

"We wanted to have an affordable house, flexible, built with local materials, but also with permeable spaces to take advantage of the tropical weather," said Felipe Mesa of Plan:b Arquitectos.

Permeability was achieved by opening up the back of the home with a double-volume area, a courtyard in the middle of the home, and using perforated concrete blocks to let in air.

It is set in the tropical jungle on a narrow lot

"We can have air currents crossing the building all the time," said Mesa.

"The blocks have this circular perforation. In some cases we cover the holes with circular glasses. But the majority are open."

The double-height living room is permanently opened

The main living space, which opens onto a terrace containing a pool, has an angled roof that rises to create a double-height space topped with perforated blocks to let in air and light.

This area contains the dining room and living room with the kitchen set into its rear wall.

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A central courtyard separates this living space from the three enclosed bedrooms that are also topped with a sloped roof.

While the living area was designed to be permanently open, the kitchen can be closed off with a sliding wooden door and access to the courtyard and bedrooms sealed.

The main entrance leads into the courtyard

Alongside the garden courtyard are two further bathrooms and another bedroom.

"This sequence allows the house to function extroverted and open to the landscape, or introverted and focused on the courtyard," said Plan:b, who also noted that one aim of the layout was that the house never cast shadows on the swimming pool.

The bedrooms are accessed from the courtyard

The home combines natural and more industrial materials. Its roof was made from local wood that is exposed throughout the interiors.

Steel beams support the mouth of the living area, and a "rusted steel" pergola protrudes towards the pool.

Concrete window frames jut out from long rectangular windows on both walls.

In the living area, the kitchen is accessible through a sliding wooden wall

"The house has an appearance halfway between traditional housing construction and a small industrial building," added the Colombian architecture studio.

Alongside the holiday home, the pool area sits on a platform to deal with the incline, and from one edge of this patio handrails were placed to create a viewing station.

Steel beams and the pergola mark the transition to the outdoor space

Felipe Mesa is an assistant professor at the Design School at Arizona State University where he recently oversaw students designing a covered outdoor classroom.

Other projects that include brick and perforations are a home in Vietnam with a triple-heigh atrium and this Bangladeshi mosque by Marina Tabassum.

The photography is byAlejandro Arango.

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Project credits:

Architects: Felipe Mesa, Federico Mesa

Project Manager: Cristian Camacho, Verónica Mesa

Work team: Laura Kate Correa, Sebastián González, Leyre

Vicente

Structural Design: Plexus – Ingeniería Integral

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Matt Fajkus adds perforated steel screens to Austin boathouse

Austin studio Matt Fajkus Architecture has designed a boathouse in the Texas city with perforated metal facades calibrated to balance light and shade throughout the year.

Located on the shore of a ravine in Austin, the Filtered Frame Dock is a two-storey boathouse positioned close to a nearby house built above water level.

Filtered Frame Dock sits on the shore of a ravine

The boathouse has a steel roof arranged in two triangular planes that protect the upper wooden deck from sunlight. The deck is wrapped by glass balustrades and features outdoor lounge chairs.

Filtered Frame Dock gets its name from the perforated stainless steel screens that flank its north and south sides.

Two triangular planes form the boathouse roof

The screens are designed so that the boathouse receives equal amounts of sunlight and shade during the year, with light and shadow perfectly balanced during the equinox.

"An instrument for light and ventilation, the structure is calibrated to provide a comfortable balance of sun, shade, shelter and breezes throughout the year," said Matt Fajkus Architecture.

The upper deck is wrapped by glass balustrades

"As the seasons shift, the dock provides greater shade during the heat of the summer and welcomes more sun during the cooler winter months."

The laser-cut perforations on each screen are also organised based on sightlines, so that visitors can enjoy views of the water from the deck.

Other materials incorporated into the project are hardwood decking and natural stone, which are intended to echo the boathouse's surroundings.

"Sensory experiences are both articulated by and inherent in the relationship between the dock and its natural context," concluded the architecture firm.

A small balcony juts out above the water

Matt Fajkus Architecture has completed a handful of projects in its home city, including a house with a roofline that mimics a mullet and a mid-century home with an extension formed from wood, stucco and glass.

Boathouses are popular in Austin, since many locals like to enjoy the warm climate by spending time on the water. Architecture studio Andersson-Wise has created two on Lake Austin: one that allows users to dive from its upper level, and another assembled from salvaged materials.

The photography is byLeonid Furmansky, Charles Davis Smith and Matt Fajkus Architecture.

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