House G / Karlen + Clemente

Architects: Karlen + Clemente
Area: 400 m²
Year: 2025
Photography: Gonzalo Viramonte
Architects In Charge: Monica Karlen, Juan Clemente
Design Team: Melisa Perotti, Agustina Rinaudo, Antonella Soldevila, Julieta Gaggiofatto
Technical Team: Fernanda Mercado
Manufacturers: Holcim, Sika, ABERTINO, ACINDAR, Ilva, Jhonson Acero, REHAU
City/Location: Río Tercero
Country: Argentina

House G is a residential project shaped around a central courtyard that mediates the relationship between interior life and the surrounding neighborhood. The architects positioned the built mass across the front of the lot, creating a protected, inward-facing core that anchors circulation and daily activity. The configuration supports a clear division between public exposure and private openness, directing the home’s broader views and natural light toward the north-facing backyard. Primary living spaces occupy the ground floor, extending visually and physically toward a garden, gallery, and pool sequence. The second level introduces two additional bedrooms that interact with terraces and long-range views. The material palette balances exposed concrete, stone, and wood, creating a consistent yet evolving architectural character shaped by light, shadow, and vegetation. Thoughtful detailing, spatial transitions, and environmental considerations guide the residence’s calm and composed atmosphere.

House G takes a deliberate approach to urban domesticity by using the full width of its frontage to create both spatial privacy and an internal life oriented around an ample courtyard. Instead of retreating from the street, the building forms a protective threshold that frames a serene central void. This strategic placement allows the house to control its engagement with the neighborhood while enabling generous openness toward the garden at the rear. Within this arrangement, the courtyard becomes the conceptual and functional anchor, encouraging daily routines to unfold around a sheltered outdoor space.

The ground floor is organized along a linear axis that aligns the living room, dining room, and kitchen in a continuous social zone. These spaces flow outward to the gallery and pool, reinforcing an uninterrupted connection to the landscape. Service areas and the master suite are also placed at this level, providing self-sufficiency and reducing the need for vertical circulation in everyday use. The upper floor introduces a smaller, more independent volume that holds two secondary bedrooms. This elevated component interacts with terraces and curated voids, creating a quieter retreat with visual links to the surrounding neighborhood.

Material selection reinforces the residence’s measured presence. Exposed concrete provides a calm structural base, while stone and wood introduce warmth and texture. The street-facing façade adopts a restrained, almost opaque expression punctuated by vertical wooden elements that enhance rhythm and privacy. In contrast, the interior frontage opens to the landscape through expansive glazing moderated by eaves and latticework. Over time, the interplay of vegetation, shifting light, and textured surfaces is intended to soften the architecture, allowing it to evolve in harmony with its environment. House G ultimately presents a nuanced balance between urban formality and domestic retreat, shaped by purposeful spatial organization and an atmosphere of enduring quietude.