After living and working in Australia for six years, Argentinian architect Facundo Ochoa moved to the eastern coast of Uruguay, just outside the popular resort town of Punta del Este. He was drawn to the area’s surfable beaches—especially Playa Montoya—and the proximity to his native Buenos Aires, where he cofounded the studio NODO Arquitectura. He also saw a demand for the kind of holistic work he wanted to pursue: projects where he could participate in both the intellectual aspects of architecture and the physical labor of construction.

Facundo started with his own house, a minimalist, wood-clad space on a verdant plot near Montoya’s waves. Not only did he design it, he built it inch by inch with his hands, aided by a knowledgeable neighbor and a couple day laborers. After seven months, he finished it in time to welcome home a baby girl with his wife, Catalina (it’s the couple’s first child, arriving any day now). “We’re contributing a new Uruguayan to the country,” he says jauntily. “We’ve put down roots.”

Redefining a Legacy

My great-grandfather was a respected architect—his name was Miguel Ángel Cesari, and he was partners with Clorindo Testa [a pioneer of brutalism in Argentina]—and my father is an engineer, so all my family has been involved in construction and I sort of lived and breathed it. As a kid, I would use my hands to create things, and I built my own skate ramp. But when I became an architect, I realized that in Argentina there’s a dividing line in terms of what architects should or should not do—it’s not well-regarded to be doing any sort of manual labor.

That felt limiting to me, so I decided to move to Australia, where I was able to explore different facets of the profession and learn about carpentry. I worked on various renovations, and then I made a wood cabin with interlocking joints that could be assembled on-site in just a few hours. I don’t really fit into the architect mold.

All Hands on Deck

We bought this land sight unseen while we were in Australia. I knew the area well, as I’d spent many summer vacations here. It’s 1,400 square meters [about 15,000 square feet], with sandy soil—basically a dune with grass—and a forest of pine and eucalyptus trees right next to it. I wanted my house to be an expression of my personality and my ideas about hand-building.

The construction team consisted of myself and my neighbor, who’s an experienced carpenter, plus a day laborer or two. We did the steel framing ourselves and laid the concrete foundation; some days we worked 14 hours. The walls were plastered, and I used microcement in some areas, like the built-in headboard in our bedroom, which has these custom niches. Doing manual work really allows me to go into every detail, to add personality, and to make a space distinctive.

A Place to Hang Loose

I love to surf. I moved to Australia in part because I knew there was work there, but mostly because I wanted to live on the beach. My wife surfs, too. On surfing trips, we’re always staying in hostels or rental villas where the vibe is really easygoing and outdoorsy, so my wife and I wanted to live a little bit like that, to feel like we’re on vacation year-round.

The challenge was how to do that in Uruguay, where the winters are quite cold. Something I really consider in all of my designs is the movement of the sun. Here, the sun is to the north, and it sets in the west where I have all these trees. The rays shine through them—it’s really beautiful, and I wanted to enjoy that view.

I also wanted all the rooms to open into a common outdoor area, like in a hostel. So I designed a north-facing U, with a covered deck to the west, which is protected from the winds that come from the east and south. Lately it’s been cold, but we can use the deck most of the time. I made the parrilla open on both sides, and it heats up the patio.

DIY in Real Time

We used lapacho wood everywhere for the exterior, and we had some leftover planks, so I decided to do something with them. I made some shelves for the kitchen inspired by Japanese design, and I also made the handles for the cabinets. Then I carved a couple of sconce lights that we hung in the living room. Many details were not planned ahead of time. The built-in benches in the living room were done on the fly, for example. And some of the extra straw that I had from the patio’s ceiling, I used it to make a door for a closet where we store the surfboards.

Local Vernacular, Global Inspiration

I like to try new things; the challenge was how to combine everything in a harmonious way. I love ’70s architecture, and I dislike columns, so I designed a metal V to hold up the long overhang in the deck. The straw on the deck’s ceiling was inspired by Japanese design. And the microcement benches in the living room have a whitewashed Mediterranean look. Overall, I think the style is simple and airy. Even though we’re now settled here, I did not want to lose that sense of the carefree, outdoorsy life we love. We called the house Casa Narra, in honor of Narrabeen Beach near Sydney, where we used to surf.

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Project Credits:

Architect of Record: NODO Arquitectura + Naturaleza / @nodoarquitectura

Builder: Kabina Houses / @kabina.uruguay

Interior Design: Kabina Houses

Photography: @abori.gen

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Construction Diary: He Hand-Built a High-Design Surf Shack in Uruguay