LuMa House / AtelierM

Architects: AtelierM
Project Area: 210 m²
Area: 450 m²
Year: 2024
Design Team: Matias Mosquera, Camila Gianicolo, Cristian Grasso, Carolina Tobar, Sebastian Karagozlu, Marcelo Vita
City: Martínez
Country: Argentina

LuMa House, a residential project by AtelierM in Martínez, centers its architectural concept around a hundred-year-old oak tree rooted at the core of the site. The design addresses the complexity of a north-facing façade that required both light optimization and privacy. Completed through a spatial dialogue between built form and nature, LuMa introduces a circular patio around the tree and a spiraling circulation path that connects all levels, creating continuous interaction with the oak. The project manipulates light seasonally and culminates in a rooftop garden offering panoramic views above the tree canopy.

The LuMa House project revolved around concrete, which, in essence, I see as “liquid stone.” It has the power to adapt to any geometry, and in LuMa House, it allowed us to flow around a centuries-old oak tree, almost like dancing a tango with it. That dialogue between the permanence of the tree and the fluidity of concrete shaped the entire house.
Interview with Matias Mosquera of AtelierM

LuMa is an architectural project structured around a hundred-year-old oak tree located at the center of a lot bordered by party walls in Martínez. The plot presents a design challenge due to its orientation; the main façade faces north requiring a careful balance between access to light and ensuring privacy for the owners.

Based on these conditions, the architects initiated an in-depth exploration of how to establish a harmonious relationship with both the tree and natural light. While solar dynamics provided a familiar framework for shaping the home around the sun’s path, the more critical challenge was determining how to engage meaningfully with the oak. The question became not only whether to admire or explore the tree, but also how—through proximity, scale, or angle.

The conclusion was that all these interactions had architectural value. The design embraced multiple relationships with the oak, each expressing a different layer of connection. From the street, the house presents a blind façade, above which a sloped green roof rises. From its center, the oak tree emerges, visually defying traditional compositional expectations.

Entering the home, visitors encounter a circular patio with the oak at its center. This moment marks the beginning of a spatial path that wraps around the tree, originating at ground level and continuing upward to the second floor. This spiral movement defines the house’s core, integrating vertical circulation with the natural presence of the oak.

Natural light enters from the northern façade, activating the foliage throughout the year. In winter, increased sunlight reaches the interiors through the filtered tree canopy, while in summer, the dense foliage provides shade, regulating indoor temperatures.

The spatial journey culminates in a garden situated above the oak’s glass canopy. This final destination is accessed directly from the living room, bypassing the private spaces on the first floor, and frames expansive views toward the surrounding landscape.