Alejandro Rodríguez had been living half a mile from a long, sinuous lake in Canelones, Uruguay, swimming in its waters and riding his bike around its rugged shoreline for the better part of 25 years. So when a 100-by-164-foot plot of waterfront property came up for sale at a time when he was looking for a new home, he jumped at the chance to purchase it. He already had a strong connection to the landscape—now he just needed a house.

A former systems engineer who had given up the corporate hustle to pursue a passion for importing Spanish wines, Alejandro was looking for a quieter, simpler life, one that focused more on watching ducks fish for food than on amassing things. He wanted to create a home inspired by a line he’d read long ago in a book about Zen design: “Let your house look the way you want your mind to look.” To Alejandro, that meant a place that was “free from distractions and designed to enjoy moments, not material objects,” he says. “I wanted to live with less.”

Convinced that a shorter timeline would equate to fewer problems, he also wanted an efficient construction process. He turned to MAPA, an architecture firm based in Uruguay and Brazil with a reputation for designing high-quality, small-footprint prefab homes. He sketched out several pages of requirements—a small bedroom, two bathrooms, a kitchen with an island, an open floor plan—and then set MAPA loose.

The initial concept was nearly identical to the final project. Named Lagos House, the home is a simple rectangle with an outdoor space at each end—one facing the cool, breezy lake and a more sheltered one facing the road. Per Alejandro’s request, it has very few walls, and by using primarily prefab elements, MAPA assembled the basic structure in just three days.

The firm employed a building material it had never used before: precast concrete slabs typically found in bridges and warehouses. By placing six of these “double-T” slabs atop two prefab concrete walls, MAPA created a clean, streamlined exterior that’s as uncluttered as what’s within.

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Paved in concrete and clad in particle-board-style oak, the interior is broken only by the bedroom and bathroom walls, which were made with light steel framing. The intention in the design was to “define the natural elements that existed already, and not to bring in opulent or artificial things,” says Andrés Gobba, a partner and director at MAPA.

The end result gracefully spans two landscapes: the rock garden, fireplace, and small water feature in front, and the one-and-a-half-mile-long lake at the back. When the weather is fine, Alejandro and his frequent guests enjoy the latter. When it’s too breezy or cold, they retire to the courtyard, where there’s far less wind and the temperature is often 10 degrees warmer.

Inside, the furniture is sparse and unfussy. Large doors open wide for easy movement between inside and out. “When people enter, they ask, ‘What will you put here, in this empty space?’ and I reply, ‘Nothing,’” Alejandro says. “I love the sight of the lake, and the reflection of the trees on the water. I don’t need any more than what I have right here.”

Project Credits:

Architecture: MAPA

General Contracting: Tractus / @tractus.uy

Structural Engineering: Astori / @astori50

Woodwork: MOAA / @moaa.com.uy

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Prefab Design Paves the Way for a Zen-Inspired Home in Uruguay