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Geometries of living

Geometries of living
By Francesco Pagliari -

Although answering to different lifestyles and located in different countries - one in an old residential quarter of Olivos near Buenos Aires, Argentina; the other a short-stay holiday home set into steep cliffs facing the Pacific Ocean at Cachagua, north of Valparaiso, Chile - the two homes designed by Mathias Klotz exude the same refined elegance. In both, an uncompromising orthogonal plan with clearly readable architectural volumes lends a formal rigueur, further underscored by interiors of rarefied elegance where the restrained use of just a few materials - concrete, steel, glass and wood - makes for quiet refinement.The holiday home built by Klotz in Chile - the B House - makes the very most of its spectacular setting on a cliff overlooking an ocean beach by making massive use of transparent glazed walls. Firmly anchored to the sloping terrain, the compact, rigorous geometry creates intermediate spaces between interior and exterior as well as secluded areas sheltered from the wind. The house is on two levels with a roof that becomes a terrace. The upper level is given over to the living area while the area below is a four-bedroom night zone. Klotz has predicated everything on a mix of flexibility and ambivalence. The living and dining area is a flexible space, a vast glazed area with nothing between it and the ocean except a loggia cantilevering out over the floor below with intermittent metal screens to shield it from the weather and glare. Hillside, the living area spills out beyond the huge stone fireplace onto a patio terrace sheltered by fair-face concrete walls. The lower level rests on a partly paved, partly grass terrace on a level with the swimming pool. Internal and exterior stairs link the two levels to provide a weave of communication pathways. For the L House in Argentina, Mathias Klotz teamed up with Edgardo Minond to create an essentially horizontal form where each environment relates directly to the exterior. The architectural programme is...

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