South America Architecture and Design

Browse Dwell stories about modern homes, design, and architecture in and around South America.

A Steel Skeleton Makes This Concrete Brick Home in Argentina Feel Like It’s Hovering
A Steel Skeleton Makes This Concrete Brick Home in Argentina Feel Like It’s Hovering
Architect Pedro Ferrazini wrapped the residence in a permeable metal frame and perched it on a small plinth, making it appear weightless.
An Architect Punches Through the Wall of Two ’50s Properties to Create His Family Home
Hernán Landolfo created natural transitions and a mazelike plan complete with lushly planted courtyards and rooftop terraces.
This Airy Home on Stilts Is One South American Family’s Beach Retreat for All Seasons
It combines a courtyard, patios, a hole-punched roof, and a pool with beach views but can be buttoned up in winter to create warm, cozy interiors.
Lots of Windows and a Sunroom Suffuse This Black Chilean Cabin With Light
Lots of Windows and a Sunroom Suffuse This Black Chilean Cabin With Light
Viento Norte Arquitectura toyed with the traditional gable by including an abundance of glazing on every side.
Rhythmic Ceiling Arches Provide Support—and Eye Candy—at This Renovated Apartment in Brazil
The design team largely restored the 50-year-old space, but a more open plan accentuates its hallmark feature and views of Sāo Paulo.
This Cliffside Home in Chile Captures Ocean Views While Fending Off Stiff Winds
Its U-shaped plan hunkers down into the bluff, creating a protected courtyard at the rear with sight lines through the living area of the Pacific Ocean.
There’s a View From Every Room of This Perched Chilean Cabin
The yakisugi-clad home’s downhill facade is floor-to-ceiling glass that opens onto decking with a plein-air vista.
This Wood, Glass, and Metal Cabin Hovers Above the Forest Floor in Chile
Hebra Arquitectos elevates a remote retreat on columns to minimize its impact on the surrounding landscape.
In Chile, an Architect Couple Build an A-Frame Cabin in Just Six Months
The principals of Max-A Arquitectura use off-the-shelf materials to create a cozy refuge in the Los Lagos region.
Reinterpreting the rural house
Designed by and for an architect couple and their little daughter, Casa Macarena is the latent result of a fusion between origin, dynamics, and technic.
One of Argentina’s First Passive Houses Stands Tall Above Rising Tides
One of Argentina’s First Passive Houses Stands Tall Above Rising Tides
Set on eight-foot stilts, this highly insulated island home provides a Buenos Aires couple with an off-grid escape.
This Apartment Renovation Was Meant as a Rental. The Owner Liked It So Much, He Kept It for Himself
Architect Rafael Ramos turned a cramped 700-square-foot flat in Rio de Janeiro into a finely tuned space infused with his client’s personal style.
A Prefab Cabin Camouflaged in a South American Forest Glows From Within
Its vertical timber siding melds with surrounding eucalyptus, but after dark, painted yellow interiors light up the night.
A Home in Brazil Is Partially Climate Controlled by Its Lush Plants
A wall of French accordion doors brings in fresh breezes while flora inside and out buffers the interiors from humidity and heat.
A Concrete Home on the Coast of Argentina Uses Stone to Connect Land and Sea
An open living area on the second level features floor-to-ceiling windows at the front and rear, linking expansive views of the ocean and countryside.
An Old Brick Wall Conceals an Urban Oasis in Buenos Aires
The remains of a newsstand now wrap a verdant courtyard and a new steel-framed home.
This Glamping Retreat in Brazil Revels in the Elemental Experience of Fire
A tiny cabin built as a refuge during the pandemic features a wood-burning stove and hot tub, an outdoor firepit, and a parrilla for cooking over open flame.
A Major Apartment Renovation in Brazil Hits All the Right Notes
At a 1970s flat, architect Ana Sawaia knocked down interior walls for a more open plan and infused it with light, soft colors, and budget-friendly finishes.
A Renovation Reveals Hardwood Floors and Concrete Beams in This Airy Rio Apartment
Furnishings and plants add pops of color that complement the Brazilian home’s original features.
Before & After: In Buenos Aires, a Crumbling Home Gets a Major Refresh With a Rooftop Pool
A couple spruce up a dilapidated dwelling in an industrial area with a living roof, emerald tile, and plants, plants, plants.
In Buenos Aires, a Family’s Experimental Renovation Tests the Boundaries of a Busy Street Corner
Architects Nicolás Tovo and Teresa Sarmiento shielded their mostly glass home from view while preserving a connection to the outdoors.
A Surfer Couple Build an All-Black Off-Grid Cabin on a Seaside Bluff in Chile
Timber-clad interiors make it cozy while wall-length windows capture sweeping vistas of the Pacific.
A T-Shaped Cabin Hugs a Forested Hillside in Chile
Its three arms stretch out to catch the best views of Ranco Lake and the Andes Mountains.
This Lush Buenos Aires Home Cleverly Blurs the Boundaries Between Inside and Out
Junta Arquitectas worked magic with a limited footprint by incorporating a sunny courtyard, verdant patio, and green roof to top things off.
A Santiago Couple Build Four Cabins—and a New Life—in Chile’s Lakes District
Leaving the bustling city behind, a psychologist and an engineer start over with a set of rentable retreats clad in reclaimed wood.
A Swooping Concrete Canopy Crowns a Pavilion-Style Home Near Buenos Aires
Interiors transition seamlessly to covered outdoor spaces, courtyards, and gardens in this radically open residence outside the city.
This Holiday Home on the Chilean Coast Is Designed Like a Hunk of Coral Stone
The retreat by Croxatto & Opazo is all about openness with outdoor stairs connecting to roof terraces and ocean views.
Subtle Touches Make for a Seriously Soothing Apartment in Brazil
Traama Arquitetura avoided structural changes, instead pairing a generous amount of white paint with wood built-ins and iconic furnishings.
Before & After: A Couple Give a Treasured Family Home a Fresh Start—Furniture and All
In São Paulo, architect Alexandre Skaff restores fixtures and furniture while updating a midcentury apartment that once belonged to his husband’s grandmother.
This House in Buenos Aires Now Encloses a Small Jungle After Some Clever Carving
Local firm Giusto Van Campenhout updates a turn-of-the-century home to feature a central courtyard with a classical oculus rendered in workaday concrete.
Catwalks and Glass Tunnels Tie Together a Verdant Colombian Home
A zigzagging floor plan provides a family with opportunities to find both privacy and connection.
This Soothing, Spa-Like Residence in Brazil Is the Deep Breath We All Need
Traama Arquitetura renovates the building that once housed the capital city’s electric company, creating a calming yet energizing space.
A Cabin Springs Up Above a Dry Creek Bed in a Chilean Forest
On a rocky bank, Hebra Arquitectos builds a breezy home that opens wide to nature.
A Black Roof and Central Courtyard Make This Chilean Cabin Vanish Into the Woods
Architect Lucas Maino Fernandez designs a two-tiered home with a sloped roof that draws an inconspicuous line through the trees.
A Set Designer’s House in Brazil Blends Colonial Architecture With Miesian Modernism
A nod to the past, the contemporary country escape by Mapa Architects is surprisingly close to São Paulo’s hustle and bustle.
A Cramped 400-Square-Foot Apartment in Buenos Aires Gets Flowing Spaces and a Fresh Start
Architect Micaela Racca tore out every wall she could to create a continuous floor plan that maximizes space, storage, light, and air.