This Barn-Like Home Is Closed to the Street and Open to the Forest

Set within a forest clearing, this simple yet sophisticated house has black corrugated steel on its street-facing side, and glass on its tree-facing side.

Text by

Michele Koh Morollo

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Nestled within a forest clearing near the Argentinian city of Córdoba, this 2,153-square-foot house named "La Negrita" is designed to exist in harmony with nature. Designed by Córdoba–based Morini Arquitectos, the house first reveals itself as a black corrugated wall in the middle of the woodlands.

Extensive glazing and skylights fill the home's interior with natural light.

The clients wanted their new home to connect with the forested landscape, however they also sought privacy from the street. To achieve this, the architects created a black facade with three separate modules—an open-plan living/dining area, a bedroom, and a garage.

Located in the countryside just outside Córdoba, Argentina, La Negrita is respectful of its woodland environment.

According to Morini Arquitectos founder Jorge Morini, "this programmatic fragmentation was conceived with the implication that, over time, more spaces may be added to the corrugated wall."

The wooden floors inside the house echo the trees outside.

The house is composed of three separate modules.

The corrugated wall hides the home from the street to give the owners the privacy they desire. Meanwhile, the back of the house is fitted with floor-to-ceiling windows that connect the interiors to nature.

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The home's ceilings are made from concrete.

The home's interior walls are made from whitewashed concrete.

"The house is totally introverted [and] mysterious towards the street and extroverted towards the interior," says Morini.

Interior furnishings are minimal to highlight the greenery outdoors.

"This approach ensures that, even with speculative additions, the language of the house will not be lost. The final result is a house of transitions and of duality, with the lightness of the black sheet exterior contrasting the weight of the interior concrete, and the opacity of the street-facing facade further contrasting the transparency of the interior space," says Morini.