As one half of Chile-based Estudio Diagonal, engineer Juan Pablo Delgado saw an architectural opportunity in a forest that developers had left “abandoned.” The site, which is tucked away near his parents’ house, has no vehicular access and only a couple walking paths, but its remote and wild feel (and its proximity to existing utility lines) inspired Delgado to buy the land and craft a minimalist, low-budget retreat with his partner, architect Sebastián Armijo.

“The purpose was to create a comfortable place to spend the night that took advantage of the natural surroundings and view without too much site intervention,” explain the duo. “The goal was to make a house with a standard sedan car budget, and to keep the costs low. Our decision was to build small.”

Treated as a passion project, the build was spread out over the course of four months—although Delgado and Armijo note that it could have been completed in three weeks, with all materials hand-carried to the site due to difficult access. The duo named the project Refugio 3 x 3 after the length and width of the interior in meters.

“The facade composition pursues minimum intervention—there’s one facade for the door, another for the view window, a third for ventilation windows, and the last is completely blind, although we knew you could get a nice view from every angle,” explain the design duo. The exterior is covered with zinc-aluminum sheets painted black, to make the building recede into the landscape.

A self-professed car enthusiast, Delgado intends to use the compact, 97-square-foot retreat for relaxation in nature, as well as for watching car-related videos on a projector.

“The access facade is our favorite part of the project,” explain the design duo. “This mysterious black box surrounded by trees calls your attention with a red door inviting you to see what is inside.”

Related Reading:

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Project Credits:

Architect of Record: Estudio Diagonal / @estudiodiagonal.arq

Photographer: Nico Saieh / @nicosaieh