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Co-owner Sofia von Ellrichshausen in one of her home’s ateliers. For her and her partner Mauricio Pezo, openings in walls and roofs are essential articulation devices. -
The cloister-like structure of the home is divided into 12 independent blocks separated by seismic joints. Carefully positioned on the plot to integrate into the landscape and follow the slope of a hill, the building respects and highlights its natural environment. Existing trees have been retained and incorporated into the layout. -
Almost three-quarters of the home’s surface is outdoor space, with many corners and rooms exposed to nature’s moods, reflecting the owners’ belief that architecture is a complex instrument meant to reflect the world in a literal and intellectual sense. -
Almost three-quarters of the home’s surface is outdoor space, with many corners and rooms exposed to nature’s moods, reflecting the owners’ belief that architecture is a complex instrument meant to reflect the world in a literal and intellectual sense. -
Almost three-quarters of the home’s surface is outdoor space, with many corners and rooms exposed to nature’s moods, reflecting the owners’ belief that architecture is a complex instrument meant to reflect the world in a literal and intellectual sense. -
Almost three-quarters of the home’s surface is outdoor space, with many corners and rooms exposed to nature’s moods, reflecting the owners’ belief that architecture is a complex instrument meant to reflect the world in a literal and intellectual sense. -
Almost three-quarters of the home’s surface is outdoor space, with many corners and rooms exposed to nature’s moods, reflecting the owners’ belief that architecture is a complex instrument meant to reflect the world in a literal and intellectual sense. -
Almost three-quarters of the home’s surface is outdoor space, with many corners and rooms exposed to nature’s moods, reflecting the owners’ belief that architecture is a complex instrument meant to reflect the world in a literal and intellectual sense. -
The house, called Luna, features multiple openings to small courtyards that separate the 12 independent buildings. -
The building combines elements of minimalism and Brutalism, characterised by exposed concrete and a visually clean aesthetic. In the more practical, high-traffic areas, furniture is strategically placed at the window openings to maximise the views of the landscape. -
The monochromatic colour scheme in the kitchen continues the seamless flow. -
“We do everything together,” says Sofia. For two decades, the couple have lived and worked together, sharing an international career in academia, art and architecture. Their new home has plenty of room to accommodate the different studios and spaces required for their creative expression. They conceived Luna as not just their private home but as a cultural centre that will continue on beyond their lifetime -
“We do everything together,” says Sofia. For two decades, the couple have lived and worked together, sharing an international career in academia, art and architecture. Their new home has plenty of room to accommodate the different studios and spaces required for their creative expression. They conceived Luna as not just their private home but as a cultural centre that will continue on beyond their lifetime -
“We do everything together,” says Sofia. For two decades, the couple have lived and worked together, sharing an international career in academia, art and architecture. Their new home has plenty of room to accommodate the different studios and spaces required for their creative expression. They conceived Luna as not just their private home but as a cultural centre that will continue on beyond their lifetime -
“We do everything together,” says Sofia. For two decades, the couple have lived and worked together, sharing an international career in academia, art and architecture. Their new home has plenty of room to accommodate the different studios and spaces required for their creative expression. They conceived Luna as not just their private home but as a cultural centre that will continue on beyond their lifetime -
“We do everything together,” says Sofia. For two decades, the couple have lived and worked together, sharing an international career in academia, art and architecture. Their new home has plenty of room to accommodate the different studios and spaces required for their creative expression. They conceived Luna as not just their private home but as a cultural centre that will continue on beyond their lifetime -
The minimalist interior defines the overall design. -
The minimalist interior defines the overall design. -
Each room in the house is about more than just its function, as is evident in the circular library, which has been elevated above ground level. -
The architects explored the concept and various perceptions of distance in the dynamic of the rooms. -
Throughout the house, the rooms articulate different directions to highlight perceptions of distance. Each area offers a private indoor setting and a shared outdoor space, resulting in a sense of calm and continuity – and each room acts as a threshold to an endless connection of spaces. -
Throughout the house, the rooms articulate different directions to highlight perceptions of distance. Each area offers a private indoor setting and a shared outdoor space, resulting in a sense of calm and continuity – and each room acts as a threshold to an endless connection of spaces.
WORDS Gudrun Henrysdóttir PHOTOS AND PRODUCTION Mads Morgensen
Built outside the town of Yungay in Chile, the home of the architect duo behind Pezo von Ellrichshausen is one that experiments with the sensory experience of space and the perception of distance.
It’s a house, but only in the broadest definition of the term, says co-owner Sofia von Ellrichshausen of this structure in the foothills of the Andes mountains in central Chile. She and fellow architect and artist Mauricio Pezo have been sharing their academic and artistic lives for the past two decades, and together head up the internationally renowned art and architecture studio Pezo von Ellrichshausen.
The couple built their new home in a secluded area surrounded by forest and freshwater channelled through small streams that come down from the mountains. Impressively big, it manages not to impose on its surroundings. “We call it a house, and it is our private home – but we also consider it a cultural centre, as it is meant for more than domestic use. It is a place for our creative expression, and ideally, it will live on beyond our lifetime to become a creative space for other humanist and creative people,” says Sofia.
The house gets its name – Luna – from a traditional Chilean rodeo arena known as the medialuna. These circular structures about 45 metres in diameter are made of wooden boards, and Luna pays homage to its inspiration via the 45m x 45m central courtyard. The square-plan building combines a modern take on minimalist and Brutalist architecture, with exposed concrete structure as its focal point. Despite its imposing materiality, it’s a permeable building, with rectangular and circular skylights and window cutouts filling the rooms with light.
The structure consists of different sections, each with a private courtyard that provides access to a series of larger courtyards – much like a cloister. The idea is to create private spaces while maintaining a sense of being in the same house, allowing everyone to feel connected to the home’s other occupants.
“I compare it to living in an apartment building, where everyone has their own space but shares the building with others, so in a way you are living together,” explains Mauricio.
Part of the duo’s way of exploring architecture has been about blurring lines, and diluting the difference between the artificial and the natural. They worked on cultivating a relationship with nature and were mindful of the surrounding area by building the house around existing trees. “For us, it is not only about creating functional spaces in the pragmatic sense, by saying we need bedrooms, a library, studios for painting and carpentry,” says Sofia. “It’s also about our ethos with regards to nature. Because of that, most spaces are not really indoor spaces – they are outdoor rooms with intermediate courtyards.”
“We use architecture to articulate what is already there, and to test how space can induce sensory experiences and feelings of recognition,” says Mauricio. “For us, architecture is about perceiving and understanding distance – which is one of the most concrete manifestations of time.”
Luna is the third house that Sofia and Mauricio have built for themselves, and it shares similarities with their previous homes, including ateliers and a studio in the form of a tower. The scale and location, however, are vastly different. “We both grew up in the southern parts of South America, with a strong connection to the wilderness,” explains Sofia. “Since we met, we had this romantic idea of a voluntary exile; a return to a more elemental way of life. This property is at the frontier of the valley and the mountain landscape. Within this picturesque setting, the building articulates all the possible spaces we had in mind to allow us to continue our work of writing, drawing, painting and imagining architecture.” | pezo.cl
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