Olivos House / Estudio GLAD

Architects: Estudio GLAD
Area: 2024 ft²
Year: 2014
Photographs: Luis Barandiarán
Manufacturers: MON EQUIPAMIENTO, SAVIOTTI
Lead Architects: Lucia Rivolta, Amelia Sanchez Casella
Landscaping: María De Luján Puglia
Structural Engineering: Mariano Ventrice
City: Olivos
Country: Argentina

Olivos House residential project by Estudio GLAD in Vicente López redefines spatial interaction through a 3×2 modular grid that blends interior living with exterior green space. Designed on a narrow urban plot, the house incorporates side and rear courtyards to extend the dwelling’s footprint and establish layered visual connections. The integration of metal mesh screens, exposed concrete, and structured vegetation supports privacy while maintaining openness. A central void links vertical circulation and landscape, forming a porous interface between street and interior. The architecture balances enclosure and exposure through minimal material articulation.

Olivos House, designed by Estudio GLAD in Vicente López, was conceived to maintain an ongoing dialogue with its external environment. Built on a 10 by 30 meter lot between party walls, the house follows a 3×2 modular grid. This system organizes functions to remain in constant contact with the outdoors, both toward the rear garden and the front garden, which transforms into a side patio that extends into the interior. This gesture introduces a dynamic interplay of full and empty volumes within the overall massing.

Interior rooms are positioned to benefit from views toward both the rear garden and the lateral courtyard. The side courtyard is designed as an extension of the living space, creating a continuous area where interior and exterior blend. Vertical circulation connects directly to this courtyard, making both elements part of a single spatial sequence. This central void serves as both an entry and a transitional zone, reinforcing spatial fluidity between the house, the exterior, and the street.

A sequence of perforated metal mesh screens begins at the municipal line and continues inward across the facade. These planes form a layered transition that connects the interior to the street while preserving visual privacy. A similar mesh treatment is applied at the back of the house, where the rear garden includes a gallery, swimming pool, solarium, and fire pit. These spaces remain shielded from view, protecting the upper-level volume.

Exposed concrete defines the house’s material language, enhancing surface texture and contributing to spatial clarity. This choice, combined with beamless slabs and glazed panels, supports visual continuity throughout the house. Vegetation was integrated from the earliest design phases, acting as a primary material that guides the arrangement of courtyards and the positioning of glazed surfaces.

The metal mesh, while serving as a privacy filter, also enables interaction between the house and surrounding plant life. This dual function helps establish a consistent dialogue between architecture and landscape, allowing vegetation to play an active role in the building’s material expression and spatial experience.