Casa Frente Al Parque / Atelier Industrial

Architects: Leonardo Valdivieso, atelier industrial
Area: 600 m²
Year: 2022
Photography: Javier Agustin Rojas
Lead Architects: Marcos Garbin, Leonardo Valdivieso
Contractor: Andrés Lucchessi
Materials: Exposed steel profiles, prefabricated concrete slabs, locally produced brick, stone
City: San Rafael, Mendoza
Country: Argentina

Casa Frente al Parque is a 600-square-meter residence in San Rafael, Argentina, designed by Leonardo Valdivieso and atelier industrial in response to its position opposite Hipólito Yrigoyen Park. Completed in 2022, the house is arranged as two volumes unified by a consistent structural and material system. The principal volume contains the domestic program, while a secondary building along the site boundary accommodates the quincho and spaces intended for social gatherings. Courtyards and transitional areas connect the two structures, extending everyday activities outdoors and creating a gradual progression between the park, the property, and the private interior. An exposed steel frame, prefabricated concrete slabs, stone walls, and locally produced brick establish the project’s restrained architectural language. Brick screens on the upper level filter sunlight and views while preserving a visual connection to the surrounding tree canopy. Through its direct expression of construction, material texture, and climatic response, the residence establishes a measured relationship between domestic life and the broader landscape of Mendoza.

Casa frente al parque / atelier industrial

Casa Frente al Parque approaches residential design through the careful management of distance, enclosure, and visual exchange. Rather than treating its location opposite Hipólito Yrigoyen Park as a backdrop, the project incorporates the presence of trees, shadows, and changing daylight into the rhythms of daily occupation. Its relationship with the landscape is established through filtered views and transitional spaces rather than through a single open frontage. The composition is divided into two independent but closely related volumes. The main building contains the private and shared domestic spaces of the residence, while the second volume is positioned against the property boundary and houses the quincho and areas for gathering. This separation allows social activities to maintain a degree of autonomy without becoming disconnected from the house as a whole.

The space between the two volumes plays a crucial role in organizing the project. Patios, shaded passages, and intermediate areas expand the usable living environment beyond the enclosed rooms. These spaces create a gradual transition from the openness of the park to the more protected interior of the residence, softening the boundary between public landscape and private life. A repetitive steel structure provides the principal order of the building. Exposed profiles establish a regular framework that coordinates the dimensions of the rooms, the placement of the prefabricated concrete slabs, and the modulation of the masonry. The structural system remains visible, allowing the logic of assembly to become part of the architectural expression.

The construction avoids unnecessary coverings and applied finishes. Steel, concrete, stone, and brick are presented according to their natural qualities, with joints, surfaces, and thicknesses left legible. This direct material treatment gives the residence a sense of precision while emphasizing the relationship between structural performance and spatial character.

The enclosure system responds to differing requirements for privacy, orientation, and climate. A stone wall defines the perimeter of the property and refers to the mineral qualities associated with the Mendoza landscape. Its weight and texture establish a grounded outer edge, separating the residence from the street while maintaining a material connection to its regional context. Within the house, locally produced brick introduces thermal mass and a warmer tactile quality. The masonry contributes to interior temperature regulation while reinforcing the project’s emphasis on robust, durable materials. Variations in the brickwork also allow the walls to operate as both solid boundaries and permeable filters.

On the upper floor, brick lattice screens mediate the relationship between the private rooms and the park. The perforated surfaces reduce direct solar exposure, limit views from outside, and retain visual access to the upper branches of the trees. As light moves across the facade, the screens cast shifting patterns that alter the atmosphere of the interior throughout the day.

Casa Frente al Parque ultimately derives its identity from the coordination of structure, matter, climate, and landscape. Its restrained palette and clearly expressed construction support a form of domestic architecture in which technical decisions are inseparable from spatial experience. The residence remains protected and private while sustaining a continuous, carefully controlled relationship with the park across the street.