A Volcanic Rock House Seamlessly Disappears Into The Landscape
How do you make a house feel open and connected to its surroundings without actually exposing it to the outside world in the typical manner? The answer to this question stands at the core of a very special project which was completed in 2014 by architect Luis Arturo Garcia of EDAA. The architect was asked to design a house which would be able to seamlessly blend in with its natural surroundings and which would allow its inhabitants to be in touch with nature without sacrificing privacy. This became possible with the help of design features such as large pivot doors and locally-sourced, natural materials.
The house is built out of rough stone and concrete and has a low profile, being almost perfectly aligned with the slopes. The lap pool is at ground level which wouldn’t really be unusual if the house didn’t also have a basement level. The foundation and the main structural elements are made of concrete and some of the walls are built of volcanic rock. This selection of materials allowed the project to stay within budget and at the same time to establish a strong dialogue with its natural context. The materials age naturally and this helps the house blend with the landscape more seamlessly every day.