Escobar House

Solid façade

Escobar House is located in Haras Santa María de Escobar, a gated community in the North corridor, approximately 54 km from the center of Buenos Aires. The neighborhood’s expansive lots are arranged around a golf course. The site for Escobar House is defined by its flat topography and a privileged rear view towards the golf course and a vast green area oriented to the North.

Functional Layout

Designed for a young couple, the residence was conceived as a weekend house that would eventually become their permanent home. The social area, envisioned as the heart of the house, was designed with a higher ceiling and elevated above the natural terrain to capture sweeping views of the surrounding landscape. The brief included an en suite master bedroom, two additional bedrooms for future children, and a playroom located as far as possible from the social area. The living and dining spaces open onto a semi-covered terrace adjacent to the swimming pool, allowing the house to connect seamlessly with its natural surroundings.

Design Philosophy

Constructed from exposed concrete and glass for low maintenance, the design emphasizes an integrated composition with a clear organizational and morphological unity. The main platform serves as the starting point, with the entrance and social area set slightly above the terrain, and the other rooms arranged at varying half levels. This design allows for an organic connection between spaces while maintaining their independence. A circulation and service corridor along the front of the house ensures privacy from the street for the more noble spaces, which face towards the lot’s rear. This nearly solid façade opens selectively through elongated slits, while the back of the house maintains a fluid, transparent connection with the exterior.

The supporting structure consists of two parallel inverted beams that run the length of the house. These beams are set back from the enclosing shell, both in the front and the back, highlighting the horizontality of the volume. They help organize the service corridor at the front, the social spaces, and the semi-covered deck at the rear. Views are framed as horizontal rectangles, directing the gaze towards the surrounding greenery and the golf course. To further enhance privacy and integrate the house with its environment, lines of trees were planted along the site’s boundaries.

Swimming Pool Design

The swimming pool was positioned per the client’s request, seamlessly incorporated into the house’s terrace. Its design as a rectangular plate with three cantilevered sides conceals its depth, creating the illusion of a floating mirror that reflects the sky when viewed from both inside and outside the house.

Through this design, the architects created a compact, sober volume where varying ceiling heights, lighting effects, and spatial arrangements result in diverse and inviting environments. The goal was to design a cozy home using simple lines and unembellished spaces, fostering a close and harmonious dialogue with its natural surroundings.