Kuvo House / Stanaćev Granados

Architects: Stanaćev Granados
Area: 72 m²
Year: 2022
Photography: Manu Granados
Lead Architects: Nataša Stanaćev, Manu Granados
Contractor: FCF Constructora
Landscape Design: Javiera Uribe Paisajismo
City/Location: Matanzas
Country: Chile

Kuvo House is a compact coastal dwelling designed as a low-maintenance vacation rental in Matanzas, Chile. The project accommodates a two-bedroom, two-bathroom program within a highly constrained footprint, resulting in a cubic, two-level volume that balances spatial efficiency with environmental performance. Conceived for a young user profile and intensive seasonal occupation, the house prioritizes durability, economy, and adaptability. A restrained material palette centered on wood supports longevity in a marine climate, while facade articulation responds precisely to wind exposure, solar orientation, and privacy. Through its controlled geometry and pragmatic construction logic, Kuvo House demonstrates how modest scale and limited resources can generate a clear architectural identity grounded in context and use.

Kuvo house / stanaćev granados — Kuvo House / Stanaćev Granados 63

The project stems from a commission that demanded careful calibration rather than expressive excess. Located in a coastal town shaped by tourism and water sports, the house was required to withstand frequent occupation while offering spatial quality and access to sea views within a small built area.

The architects responded by concentrating the program into a single, legible form. Defined as a six-by-six-by-six-meter prism, the house adopts an abstract geometry that establishes formal clarity and allows environmental strategies to be resolved directly through the envelope.

Although the volume initially appears detached from its surroundings, it is in fact deeply responsive to context. Each facade is differentiated according to orientation, with the south and west elevations largely closed to protect the interior from strong winds, thermal fluctuation, and future neighboring development.

In contrast, the north and east faces open selectively toward morning light and distant views. Square openings are set flush with the exterior plane, maintaining the integrity of the cubic form while enabling controlled daylight, ventilation, and visual connection to the landscape.

The exterior’s white cladding reinforces the reading of the house as a precise object. Under direct sunlight, light and shadow articulate the volume with sharp definition, while during the coastal fog common to the area, the building visually softens and recedes into its environment.

Material decisions further underscore the project’s pragmatic intent. Wood is used exclusively, with raw stained pine on the exterior selected for its resilience in a marine setting, and brushed satin-stained pine lining the interior to provide warmth and continuity.

Internally, spatial efficiency governs the organization. Services and built-in elements are compressed along the perimeter, freeing the ground floor as a flexible open space that accommodates living, dining, and kitchen functions alongside storage and a bathroom.

The upper level contains the bedrooms and main bathroom, preserving privacy while maximizing views. A staircase positioned along the perimeter becomes an active spatial sequence, gradually opening outward as it ascends and completing a compact yet deliberate domestic environment.