Connecting with the garden: Casa La Cañada, Ricardo Torrejón.

According to Chilean architect Ricardo Torrejón, buildings have no right to compete with nature. So, his project reconnects a house built in the ‘70s with its environment.



Young architect Ricardo Torrejón is behind the project for a house built in the ‘70s and uninhabited for over twenty years. It is located in Reina Baja, an outlying suburb of the metropolis of Santiago de Chile, towards the Andes.





Luckily, the huge backyard of more than one thousand square metres was well preserved and boasted lovely old trees. Although he had originally planned to renovate, in the end the architect decided to knock it down and start from scratch, reusing the salvaged material. This gave him the freedom to design a home that truly benefits from its green environment. The architect was careful not to compete with the lush vegetation and designed a building with simple lines, materials and colours.





The bare concrete block opens at the rear to overlook the backyard with visual closings and openings that act as light points for the interiors. These aren’t just windows, they’re actually “cavities”, glassed-in walkways and rooms that are not just recesses of the home but actual extensions of the garden, thus generating an intense, advantageous connection with the garden as part of the design.



Project: Ricardo Torrejón http://www.ricardotorrejon.cl
Location: Santiago de Chile
Year: 2013
Photography: Cristobal Palma http://www.estudiopalma.cl