House CM / AtelierM + Nicolas Krause

Architects: AtelierM, Nicolas Krause
Area: 315 m²
Year: 2022
Photography: AtelierM
Architects Team: Matias Mosquera, Nicolas Krause, Camila Gianicolo, Lucia Ayerbe Rant, Carolina Tobar, Francisco Gomez Paratcha, Cristian Grasso
Structural Calculations: Gustavo Carreira
Landscape Design: Carolina Pell
City: Escobar, Buenos Aires
Country: Argentina

House CM occupies a site within a gated community in Escobar where regulations require sloped roofs and a traditional architectural language. Rather than resisting these conditions, the architects adopted them as a framework for developing a contemporary interpretation of domestic form. The project is organized into three monolithic brick volumes whose unified envelopes integrate walls and roofs into cohesive, sculptural elements. By elevating one of these blocks, the design opens a ground-level area that amplifies the connection between interior rooms and the surrounding forest. Material consistency, careful solar management, and natural cross-ventilation support both environmental performance and longevity. Brick serves as the project’s defining material, ensuring durability while strengthening its timeless character. The resulting home balances regulatory compliance with thoughtful reinterpretation, presenting a mature response to context, climate, and daily living.

The project begins with a desire to introduce a contemporary reading of a familiar silhouette. The mandated sloped roofs suggested stereotypical suburban imagery, yet the design team treated this restriction as an opportunity to explore clarity rather than replicating existing models.

Instead of relying on superficial gestures, the architects established a system of three pure volumes that guide the home’s organization. Each block relates to the site through deliberate orientation, controlling views while shaping the transition between public and private areas.

The composition gains complexity through the elevation of one of the volumes. This raised element does more than create visual interest; it forms a sheltered space on the ground floor that enhances fluidity between interior areas and the landscape beyond.

By lifting a portion of the program, the project strengthens the presence of the forest at the rear of the property. The open space beneath the elevated volume becomes a vantage point where nature becomes integral to the daily experience of the house.

The relationship between mass and lightness characterizes the home’s architectural expression. The suspended brick volume appears to hover, softening the perceived weight of the material and establishing a delicate balance between solidity and permeability.

Material coherence was central to the project’s conceptual development. Brick, used consistently across roofs and walls, blurs conventional distinctions and produces an envelope defined by uniformity and precision.

This monomaterial strategy reinforces the home’s sense of permanence. Brick’s inherent durability minimizes future maintenance needs, ensuring that the house will age with minimal intervention while sustaining its visual identity.

Environmental strategy is incorporated through passive means rather than complex technological systems. Natural cross-ventilation moves air through the interior, enhancing comfort throughout different seasons.

Solar control elements, including eaves and shading devices, temper direct sunlight and prevent excessive heat gain. These decisions help reduce energy consumption by allowing natural light without compromising thermal comfort.

Light enters the home in a calibrated manner that avoids glare and enriches interior spaces. This careful modulation emphasizes the project’s interest in creating environments that feel both open and protected.

The design’s sustainability extends beyond performance to include longevity. The durable exterior envelope, coupled with passive environmental strategies, positions the house as a model of low-impact domestic architecture.

House CM ultimately demonstrates how strict regulations can evolve into productive constraints. By reinterpreting familiar forms through spatial innovation and material discipline, the project achieves a contemporary presence grounded in tradition and shaped by its natural surroundings.