Luna House - Domus

Luna House, Pezo von Ellrichshausen, Yungay, Chile An aggregate of 12 structures separated by visible seismic joints, Luna House is a large and small building at the foot of the Andes. To say that this collection of concrete blocks is a house would be too simple, and to call it a museum would be too humble. Although secular in kind, this architectural grouping is like a cloister.

Its austere profile occupies a square footprint divided by an asymmetrical cross, with rooms at the perimeter and at its core. These rooms form a horizontal extension around four distinct courtyards, one of which is elongated and follows the natural terrain together with the sunrise and sunset. Another courtyard, also elongated, faces north and is totally flat with a water stream connecting two triangular ends. The third is non-directional and is filled with a circular flower garden, while the last is three times larger and contains a pond and some old trees.

Luna House, Pezo von Ellrichshausen, Yungay, Chile This intricate structure takes its name from the size of the bigger courtyard, which is the size of a bullring called medialuna in Chilean rural tradition. The spatial quality of every room, both interior and exterior, is punctuated by singular openings in multiple directions, thus establishing a faint functional division line. There is almost no contrast between the rooms for living and those for working (from painting to gardening). In some parts there are accents of intimacy, while in others the weight, emptiness and opacity become somewhat monumental.

The extended format of the system highlights the horizontal flatness of the roof, with an almost imperceptible transition between the two storeys. Despite the exaggerated lack of thickness of its concrete walls, Luna House has a fortress-like presence divided by horizontal strata of regular cornices. In contrast to the rough surfaces, the patio walls are crowned by bold eaves, some rounded, others straight. 

Luna House, Pezo von Ellrichshausen, Yungay, Chile

Sections

Specials

Magazine

View Article details