Remy arquitectos
Peral fotografĂas
AndrĂŠs Remy arquitectos
This book was translated to english specially for our friends, Khalifa and Shama, and their family.
Abu Dhabi.2010
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Andrés Remy arquitectos
Estudio Andrés Remy Arquitectos
Andrés Remy, Architect, Argentina Hernán Pardillos, Architect, Argentina Julieta Rafel, Architect, Argentina Guido Piaggio, Architect, Argentina Lilian Kandus, Architect, Argentina Juan Etala, Architect, Argentina Valeria scattarella, Architect, Argentina Rubén Fernandez, Ingenier, Argentina Gisela Colombo, Architect, Argentina Jerome Feltham, Architect, Belgica Constanza Focaccia, Architect, Argentina Fabio Scano, Architect, Italy Gustavo Wald, Graphic designer, Argentina Diego Siddi, Designer, Argentina Sebastian Billone, Designer, Argentina Sebastian Remy, Administrator, Argentina Olivia Siegrist, Designer, Argentina Nahuel Billordo, Designer, Argentina Reece Tucker, Designer, USA Mareike Schlatow, Designer, Germany Antoine Mouy, Designer, France Alejandro Peral, Photographer, Argentina
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Andrés Remy arquitectos build with freedom
Andrés Remy in his studio in Núñez, Argentina.
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The Waterfall house RM house RZ house The Black house Bridge house Orchid house Devoto house Japanese Garden flat Get & Go Belgrano R house BAF Carrara house
The Waterfall house Nordelta/Buenos Aires 2004 350 m2
The waterfall house was conceived by the request of a young business man in a closed neighborhood. The particularities and requisites of the client, among with the lot’s characteristics, established the path to follow in the design process. The borders of the small lot we are referring to, seem to disappear in the predominant visuals: the lake. The surrounding houses, the sun’s path and the visual were needed to understand the emplacement. At the back of the lot, at the ground level the lake has a shy presence. So it was considered to raise up to get a better look at the lake. This is the reason why it was decided to place the social area in the upper level, conquering the panoramic views to the lake during the day. It is there where the water shows up. Unexpected at that height, it embraces the architecture and paints it with reflections, bringing life and movement. Appearing and disappearing to the eyes of the user, relaxing with it’s sound, dazzling with reflects, going through a path that stimulates the senses. The shallow pool expands the house limits, making them infinite. It erases the line between natural and artificial, inside and outside. The elevated water falls, as a waterfall, over the swimming pool in the lower floor, refreshing the rooms and providing privacy at the same time. The water fall also filters the northern light making it less harmful. The waterfall is the icon of this house; this is why it was named after it. About the functionality of the house, we designed flexible spaces, so it could be adapted as much as to the social active life of our client, as to the needs of a future family. The flexibility allows isolating the private areas in the lower floor from the public areas in the first floor and part of the lower floor. As a way to connect the street life with the inside of the house, was designed a mixed use room, used as a garage, playroom or to host parties. The vertical circulation in triple height baths the inside with cenital light, joining the different levels. The volumetric game outside and inside vanishes at the back, opening the spaces to the lake. The balance between full and empty tries to avoid the adverse effects big windows may cause to thermal isolation. In contrast, the front presents a closed design holding the service areas and giving privacy to the house.
left: Rear nocturnal view of the waterfall, lagoon, and master suite.
above: Rear façade view from the lagoon. top right: Ground floor plan.
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top left: First floor. above: Rear faรงade. The public space is located on the first floor to obtain the best views.
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right: Exterior access to the terrace from which height one can appreciate the lagoon.
The triple high space around access hall is illuminated from above and baths the walls with light.
Without interrupting the views, the fireplace consists of a heat-resistant brick base integrated into the dry-stone cabinets that cross part of the living room.
left: Access to the first floor. above: The living room on the last floor.
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top right: Detail of the fireplace and part of the pool of water surrounding the living room.
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The main suite, conceived as a space of relaxation, has a Jacuzzi in one of its corners. The skylight above the bed has a system enabling it to close by moving a plate of gypsum horizontally.
above: Main suite. The Jacuzzi with views of the pool and lagoon.
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left: The skylight connects the suite and the terrace.
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RM house Laguna del Sol /Buenos Aires 2004 300 m2
Situated in “Laguna del Sol”, in the outskirts or Buenos Aires, the RM house raises in a 760m2 lot. Designed for a young couple and its two kids, with an active social life, Andrés Remy came out with a house with flexible, cozy spaces maintaining clean lines. The client’s premise was to use up to 300m2 of the lot, allowing the green area to embrace the house. This creates a fluent connection with the outside without giving up privacy. The lower floor contains the public area, which is divided throughout different levels as well as changing flooring materials like cherry wood and polished cement. An indoor green area in double height lets light fill the interior, and articulates the circulation at the same time. A sculpture stair leads to the playroom in a middle level. In the upper floor, the green area splits the functions in two. For one side is the main bedroom, for the other side the kids bedrooms. A modern and functional house, with the poetical strength to affect the life of its inhabitants by means of small details that make the difference.
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left: Detail of the façade. above: Front façade. top right:
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1 Living Room, 2 Formal Dining Room, 3 Kitchen & Personal Dining Room, 4 Bar-B-Que, 5 Laundry Room, 6 Service Quarters, 7 Service Bathroom, 8 Toilet, 9 Office, 10 Covered Pool, 11 Non-covered Pool.
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On the ground floor is the social area which integrates multiple levels and floors by way of distinct materials: polished concrete in zones for relaxation, cherry wood which provides warmth in areas of circulation, to contrast the white that conquers the ambient .
left: Living room & Dining room.
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above: Interior garden with cannas and ferns. Detail of the double high space in the dining room.
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RZ house Santa Bárbara /Buenos Aires 2004 270m2
The design of the house proposes the connection of two volumes as a response to the site´s special landscape conditions. At the crossing of the canal and the lake, the house captures the best views from the main rooms while the more private areas stay less exposed. The plan is a J letter which adapts to the site´s conditions and with a 30 degree angle creates the main entrance to the house. At the rear of the building, the windows frame different views of the outstanding surrounding landscape while at the front, the openings are horizontal and being set at the viewer´s height allow the continuous view of the lake. The relationship between the swimming pool and the house is a very special one, in which the former captures the sunlight by reflection creating an appropriate microclimate for all the rooms surrounding it.
left: Detail of the front façade. above: Detail of the resolution of the stairs and the access to the house. top right: View of the front façade.
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left: Detail of the rear faรงade and pool. top: Part of the rear and deck that surrounds the pool. top right: Ground floor:
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1 Living Room, 2Dining Roomr, 3 Service Quarters, 4 Service Bathroom, 5 Kitchen, 6 Laundry Room, 7 Personal Dining Room, 8 Toilet.
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left: Living room, dining room, and a detail of the pool. top left: Circulation. Reflections from the water illuminate the interior.
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top right: Main entrance.
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left: Detail of the pool and rear at night.
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above: Rear view at night.
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The Black house Santa Bรกrbara /Buenos Aires 2006 330 m2
The black house was born by the request of a young couple, brought to us by another of our projects "The Waterfall House", which gave us the challenge of improving what we had done at that moment, taking advantage of the freedom they gave us during the design. This single house is located in a closed neighborhood, 30km. away from Buenos Aires. The lot, 20 meters wide and 50 meters length with 3 meter of lateral retreats, has amazing views to the lake we could not let aside. The analysis of the lot showed us the advantages and disadvantages we should take into account along the entire design process. The best views to the lake were at the back of the lot, while the best orientation was at the front. The surrounding houses and the wide lot marked the visuals we should use. The simple program, for a socially active couple without children, made relevant the resolution of the social areas. We decided to divide the social areas in two. In one side are located the common areas, such as the kitchen and the dinning room. On the other side is located the living room, closer to the lake. The shallow pool that divides the house in two allows the indirect light to bathe the interiors, as the northern sun reflects it's light on the water surface. This way, light is present in every corner of the house, but never in a direct way. Both programs are connected by a glass bridge, with the water running under your feet. The living room, 10 meters wide and 5 meters length, opens to the exterior using glass walls. It was thought in a lower level than the rest of the house, making it permeable and allowing the ambients a clean view to the lake. The resolution of the first floor follows the same criteria of differencing areas. At the front are located the bedrooms for the future children, with views to the lake. As a bridge, joining the two volumes in the lower floor is the main bedroom with a giant overhang that conquers the best views to the lake, seeming to float over the water. The Black House has an almost provocative sobriety, where the pure white in the inside provoques an emotive contrast with the absolute black in the outside, reminding the bite of an apple. A strong characteristic that names the house.
above: Ground floor plan. left: Rear view at night. The master suite is in the suspended volume.
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left: Front view. This faรงade of the house is compact in comparison to the permeability of the rear faรงade.
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above: Rear view.
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The living room is 10m x 5m, is free of divisions, and is totally of glass. It was placed on a lower level than the rest of the spaces. Consequently, this enables a visual permeability of the spaces, most importantly, and takes advantage of the immediacy of the lagoon.
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above: Panoramic view of the living room.
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View of the lagoon from the main suite on the top floor.
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above: Kitchen.
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The cabinets were designed especially by the architect, Andres Remy.
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left: The lateral façade enables the appreciation of the house’s transparency.
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above: The dining room view from the exterior.
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Bridge house Barrio Mapuche /Pilar. Buenos Aires 2008 315m2
This single family house is located in a closed neighborhood 50 km from Buenos Aires and is situated on the site of 46 m on the front and 9 m on the back. Irregular and wedged into the site, the house requires a particularly thoughtful implementation in both plan and section. The social program of this house resulted from a cube of 10 m x 10 m. While rotating the house 45 degrees takes on one of the most complex orientations of the site, it creates the most usable free space. The social aspect was converted into a unique floor element. This approach created a minimal footprint on the site in a gesture to highlight and preserve the existing green space. The volume on the first floor creates a semi-covered space for recreation below the private residence space. This fluid gallery creates a permeable space to the garden to unite the existing trees in the front with those in the back, giving an absolute privacy. The bedrooms are located in a volume on the first floor that is detached from the social space and extends over the terrain like a bridge. A hanging volume, supported by the bar-b-que, creates unbeatable views and considers the best orientation for the bedrooms. The intersection of the rotated cube and the bridge volume creates a double-high space above the living room. This project is clearly a geometric game where the principal protagonist on the ground floor is the existing garden that extends underneath the bridge that develops on the first floor.
left: Detail of the front faรงade. above: Expansion of the semi-covered living room.
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left: Front faรงade and rear faรงade. top right: View of the dining and living rooms from the semi-covered space. bottom right: The double high space in the interior.
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The Orchid was a challenging project, committed by a young couple with two sons, enthusiastic about sustainable architecture. After consulting several architects, they gave the commission to Andrés Remy, who had investigated these concepts in New York at Rafael Viñoly’s Studio for four years. Sustainability implies a lot of varieties, such as efficient and rational use of energy and water, natural ventilation and lighting, and low-environment-impact materials. The house has the best orientation, possible thanks to the large lot. The concept came from the client’s hobby, growing orchids. The house is based on the different parts of the orchid: the roots, the stem and the flower. The sun rays impact in the interior of each room, were also studied, to determine the optimal depth to place the windows. This gives a unique volumetric outcome to the project. Taking advantage of sun rays in winter increases the interior temperature up to a comfortable level.
Orchid house Haras del Sol /Pilar. Buenos Aires 2008 550m2
The design includes glazed volumes with good thermal insulation and small windows in the worst orientation, such as the south facade. The windows consist of aluminum frames supplied with thermal bridge breaker and double-hermetic-glass. A wide variety of insulating materials were also used, as well as water based paint and wall and roof air chambers. In the lower floor, the convenient location of the opening windows allows natural air flow helping to decrease the humidity in the room. What’s more, the big thresholds create a good distribution of fresh air. All this, gives account of the complexity of the house, a glass and concrete flower, designed according to a program of needs and the client’s concerns. top left: View of the rear façade. above: The skylight in the double high space.
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Plan Respecting the structure of the flower, the house is composed of three parts: The roots, where the garage and the access to the house is located, conforming the area closest to the street. The stem, which functions as a connection between the roots and the flower. The flower , is divided into the petals and the bulb. Each petal has a different function, and the bulb is the central space that contains the vertical circulation and unifies the petals. 77
Devoto house Villa Devoto/Buenos Aires 2009 550m2
This project was a great challenge for the Studio, considering that it was going to take part of the urban structure. The lot of 18 x 24 meters is located in Devoto. It is between two existing buildings that threatens the project when the problem of isolation and view. For this reason this project is leaning towards its neighbor, creating an introspective posture that creates the views from the inside rather than from the outside. An architecture that generated its own views. In this manner the Project was able to solve the basis of isolation and views from the garden. This was a constant worry from the clients since the beginning of the Project. The house of 500 m2 was done for a young couple with kids. It was larger than the dimensions of given lot, threatening the space of the garden. For that reason, the first floor was given less program, leaving open the exterior spaces. The living, kitchen and dining rooms expose the garden that penetrates all the volumes in the house. The spaces distort the conventional plans of an urban house. The stone wall guides the inhabitant within the house, therefore, the rough texture of the streets are soften by the water that flows down the stone wall, a walk that is colored by the different qualities the water gives the space. The green area between the living room and the neighbor guides the way to the entrance of the house. It is surrounded by the natural setting and different tones that the light of the sun gives to the space. In this Project, the impact of the sun path was carefully studied, especially to place the swimming pool. One more time, water takes a big role in the creation of this house. This time the swimming pool is elevated from the ground creating a glass wall that allows views from within and the outside, creating views from different points in the house and focal point outside the house. The house is formed vertically having a shifting effect. The bedrooms are located in the east overlooking the heart of the house, the garden. The last floor places a spa; having a jacuzzi, sauna and a gym with an exterior space. Privately settled for the couple. This Project goes beyond the rigid setting. It translates the urban setting into a natural setting subtlety. It pushes the boundaries of the conventional urban home to a spacious living where one has the best of both, the natural and the urban setting.
above: Ground floor plan. left: View of the garden and pool from the first floor.
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above: Semi-covered space.
above: Semi-covered view from the kitchen.
right: Ramp access.
left: Detail of grill and oven.
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In the kitchen, the furniture is made with zebrano wood, and the wall is of San Luis stone. This creates an atmosphere warm enough to use every day.
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left: Stairs detail. right: Corridor to bedrooms.
The sauna, Jacuzzi, and gymnasium are located on the last floor of the house.
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Japanese Garden flat Palermo/Buenos Aires 2007 550m2
This tower made of steel, reinforced concrete, glass and aluminium stands in front of the traditional Japanese garden in a residential area of Buenos Aires. Although most flats are units with simple height, those which are on the top floor have double height that enables the creation of large lofts with huge windows in the living and dining-room. Those large pieces of glass and the balconies were designed for the third highest part of the building. They constitute the typical characteristics of its design. Moreover they generate spectacular panoramic views over Palermo, the Río de la Plata and Aeroparque. The Architect Remy planned the new social areas layout in this magnificent 550 m2 flat located in the tower designed by Viñoly, who has been his teacher during the 4 years during which he worked in NYC. Using furniture with straight lines, he proposed to emphasize the views offered by the double height windows. He also designed a lighting system that enables to create different scenarios in the same space, which also incorporates the last new audio technology and digital entertainment. He chose to emphasize the entertainment area -which has a low ceiling- because of the effect it creates on people, and also because of the quality of the sound system rendering in this place. Furnitures are made of white lacquered wood. Curtains are hidden on the ceiling so that they do not interfere with the views when they are drawn. This allows the exterior to penetrate the apartment.
left: Living area with views to Río de la Plata.
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above: Tower’s façades from Gelly and Casares.
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left: Dining and living rooms.
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above: Desk. The furniture was designed so that it doesn’t disturb the views through the large windows
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left: Entertainment area. above: Furniture detail which organizes different spaces.
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right: Living room.
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Get &Go Microcentro/Buenos Aires 2010 150m2
The challenge presented for the business is based, basically, on a programmed restructuring of space, keeping the architectural existing elements and giving them, at the same time, a special character, where the new fuses with the existing, through interventions that define these new elements as part of a renewed architectural environment. The restaurant functionality required a clear circulation to access the different areas in the proper timing. Following this idea, a central volume – holding the cashier and the coffee stand – guides the path to the other functions in the surround. This envelop continuity breaks, giving place to the sitting area and displays. All these elements guide the clients all the way in and out. Throughout wide glass planes, the restaurant tries to mix with the exterior. This emphasizes the brand’s idea of quality, transparent and clean service. The façade, product of the interior elements, changes through a closure system according to the exterior needs.
above: View of the facade.
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top right: Photos of the place prior to the intervention.
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above: Closure sequence.
above: Interior photos. The layout proposes a path to go in and out of the restaurant.
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Belgrano R house Belgrano/Buenos Aires 2010 250m2
The refurbishment of this Victorian home was a challenge at the functional level, because we had to meet the requirements by the customer in an existing shell, preserving its structure and facade. Inside it was decided to relocate the existing staircase to provide more permeability to the ground floor and redistribute the upper floors. The ground floor, consisting of the social areas, integrates all the rooms in the way of a modern loft, whose main character is the sculptural wooden staircase that welcomes you to the house. The operation of addition permits to extend the kitchen through a glass volume that moves over the garden, creating a TV room and playroom on the top level. The back facade may account for these interventions, overlooking the back garden and pool. A very warm house, which required a delicate process of restoration of floors and openings, attention to details that ultimately provide them with a high level of finishes to the house and surprised with details like the hidden cellar which is accessed by sliding a tile on the kitchen floor. A work that was able to fuse two different architectural styles to achieve a unique and harmonious result.
left: The spcultoric staircase. A link between modern architecture and the Victorian style.
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bottom left: The kitchen was fully renovated. The expansion allows it to hold also a family dinning area.
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above: The wine cellar on the basement is accessed through the kitchen floor.
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BAF Benavidez /Buenos Aires 2010 2500m2
The complex is located on a lot of 5 hectares in a suburban zone full of clubs and closed neighborhoods. Considering the natural character of the site and its potential atmosphere, the idea was to suggest an architecture that was anchored in the terrain. While related in part to the green banks, it simultaneously would be clearly distinct in the abstraction and artificiality of its geometry and materials. We wanted the building-terrain relationship to be in harmony and the natural-artificial combination to be magnified by their contrast. Another important decision regarding the implantation was to separate the program into two structures with horizontal proportions to control the impact of the construction and create spaces and joints where the entrances, the connections, the fields, and finally the lagoon and landscape begin to appear. Regarding the program, the project is composed of Building 01 of 1,020 m2, Building 02 of 1,437 m2, a point of control at the entrance, 50 parking spaces, 2 futbol fields for 11 players, and 4 futbol fields for 8 players. The reflecting pool in the artificial lagoon of 220 m2 completes the program, which anchored the whole idea. As a result of economics and aesthetics, we had to transplant a great volume of earth to the natural terrain to be able to satisfy the minimum inundation codes for the city. All of the living spaces and team sports are located in Building 01 which includes a reception hall, 18 apartments, and mixedused spaces. On the ground floor, Building 02 contains the service quarters, and sport-specific spaces including lockers, workout rooms, personal and public changing rooms, and a gym with independent entrances and exits directly to the fields.The social and administrative areas are located on the first floor. This includes a restaurant/bar (also used as a salon for parties or events), terrace, kitchen, and a space for offices. On this floor there is a big opening not only to capture the best views of the landscape for whoever simply wants to enjoy having something to eat or drink, but also to offer a general panorama of the whole complex and fields for whoever wants to see the individual fields or entertainment spaces from the leisure of a covered space. For the formal and spatial development of the project, models played a fundamental role. The results responded to three principle objectives. For one, the buildings were to be dismantled, fractured, and faceted seeking to colonize the terrain, adapting it to the project. Another objective was to generate diverse, atypical spaces that surprise you and provoke multiple sensations. And, lastly, the architecture was to be totally contemporary. We believe that we as architects build the present world, understanding how we are part of a constantly evolution and seeking to be between the past and the future.
left and right: View of the main access to building 01. t night, the warm lighting creates a pleasant atmosphere.
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left: View of the access with Buliding 01 and 02.
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bottom right: View of the complex from the futbol courts.
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Carrara house Pilar/Buenos Aires 2010 600m2
Located on an irregular lot, the house sits at the back of the lot and is parallel to one of the streets to open the best orientation and capture the best views. The idea of this journey was to discover the entrance as we follow the exterior stone wall. The rustic and crafted stone defines and separates the entry zones from the living spaces and is inside and outside, proposing a counterpoint to the pure white that dominates the inside of the house. A blind and evocative entrance makes a strong impression on the house. The white of the carrara marble dominates the interior architectture. With the white walls and cielings, the house appears to arise from within the water. The touches of color are used for small details and decorative objects, dominating the white color and the turquoise of the water. The water that surrounds the house penetrates it in the form of the mirrored surface of the water whose novelty results in the interior cascade that emerges from the top floor and falls while painting reflections via a pane of glass. This mirror of water is reproduced outside blurring the boundaries between one and the other. Finally, emerging from the hall dispenser of the top floor, the glass cascade drains musically into and through the heart of the ground floor. These elements give the project the distinct mark of Remy: bold, creative and perhaps provocative, but always unique.
left: The access beneath the overhang proposes a journey between the plants that surround it.
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View from the garden. A perfect combination between white, turquoise and the brown of the stone wall.
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left: The black access door contrast the carrara marble from the floor.
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right: The stone wall divides the public space from the private area for relaxation.
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left: The water falls calmly through a glass, creating a silent water curtain.
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above: The main living room. White conquers all. The touches or color are only on the decoration.
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The main living room, closed between water, but at the same time opened to the exterior. The stone wall is the touch that breaks the white domination.
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left: The main suite has a skylight over the bed, looking at the sky. The big openings looks at garden outside.
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right: The bathroom is a sculpted piece of carrara marble. The black marquina marble sinks seems to float on the room.
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Awards and Recognition 27.11.10
Conference at Inspiration Fest, Buenos Aires.
07.10.10
Casa Orquídea selected by the Buenos Aires Arts Academy.
03.06.10
Casa Orquídea and Get & Go selected by Buenos Airess Architecs Society for the Recent Works Cycle.
20.05.10
Conference at Espacio Cetol.
09.01.10
Casa Orquídea choosen as one of the best houses in Argentina by Diario Clarín.
07.10.09
Casa Orquídea 2nd Mention Bienal Internacional de Arquitectura XIIBA 09.
10.03.09
Casa Negra choosen as one of the best houses in Argentina by Diario Clarín.
28.10.08
Premio Ventanas al Futuro, choosen between the 20th best architects younger than 45 years old.
11.09.07
Sustainable Architecture, Buenos Airess Architecs Society.
28.03.07
Emerging Architects, Diario La Nación.
20.09.06
New Visions, selected by Buenos Airess Architecs Society.
06.09.06
Architects in Transit, selected by Rosario Architecs Society.
Outstanding Publications
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AndrĂŠs Remy arquitectos
Buenos Aires, december 2010