8 Incredible Concrete Homes in Latin America
In Latin America, concrete is one of the most prevalent building materials because of its simple ingredients, ability to be mixed on-site, relatively low cost, and resistance to bugs, mildew, or fire. But, it’s also a material that can be incredibly textural, fluid, and sturdy, creating everything from decorative features to structural elements. Here, we take a look at 8 homes throughout the Latin American region that have used concrete to the project’s benefit.
Modern Concrete Home in Peru
At a family's home in Lima, Peru, architecture firm 51-1 Arquitectos constructed floors, ceilings, columns, and walls out of exposed, poured-in-place concrete. The texture from the wood planks of the forms is visible, and round portholes in the concrete wall of the pool create a playful, tactile moment as one enters the home.
Named after the rural Ecuadorean parish in which it's located, the El Quinche House—designed by Felipe Escudero and Sebastian Ordonez—sits in a valley in the Andes and features stunning views of the mountainside. The raw, exposed concrete of the exterior continues to the interior of the house, where walls are left to show the hand-poured concrete as a mark of craft.
Architect John Hix—who worked under renowned American architect and concrete aficionado Louis Kahn—designed the hotel Hix Island House in Vieques off Puerto Rico. The latest guest house on the property is called Casa Solaris and is entirely removed from the commercial grid, running completely on solar power.
Mexico City architects Ambrosi | Etchegaray were inspired by the local temperate climate and rugged landscape when creating this eco-friendly vacation home in Tepoztlán, Mexico. The mixture of local materials, including concrete, stone, and brick, reference traditional vernacular architecture, tying the house to its site and making it easier to find a construction team.
In southern Brazil, a 3,390-square-foot house designed by Barbara Becker and built by Charrua Construções perches on a slope overlooking the city of Pato Branco. The building was constructed out of poured-in-place concrete, which is discretely revealed at specific locations, like the underside of the cantilevered roof and the exposed pilotis at the front of the home. This creates a contrast between the rest of the building's crisp white walls and the rugged texture of the concrete elements.
Named "Casa Tiny" for its small size, this minimalist concrete vacation rental designed by Aranza de Ariño is located on the Oaxaca Coast in Mexico near Casa Wabi, an artists’ retreat founded by Mexican artist Bosco Sodi. With thick concrete walls on two of the facades, the end gables reveal a more porous relationship between inside and out, featuring windows and doors that open to the outside.
Precast concrete takes a central role in this second home in Mexico by architect Bernardo Gomez-Pimienta, which overlooks a lake in a region that's full of mountains. The joints and holes in the concrete create a subtle pattern and provide an orientation for everything from shower and bathtub hardware to the bathtub's surroundings.
With an eye for a Caribbean lifestyle that incorporates wind, water, and sunlight, architect Nataniel Fúster renovated an existing 1940s home in San Juan. The modern take on tropical style uses a mixture of hammered, exposed concrete at the base of the home, which gives way to perforated-concrete panels and the bright white of the rest of the concrete facade. The perforations and white exterior keep the home cool through natural ventilation. They also refract and reflect the sunlight.
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