Virrey Olaguer House
by Boosarq - BAS
This is an old urban house in the Colegiales neighborhood, built between the 1930s and 1940s, which suffered considerable deterioration after being abandoned for more than 15 years, and is therefore in a precarious, uninhabitable condition. Its load-bearing structure, its walls and plaster, its floors, and its roof are affected by the chemical and mechanical action of humidity, abrasive calcareous aggregates, and insects. Its original program included a mechanical workshop on the first floor and a three-family dwelling.
The commission is to renovate the primary house and transform it into a single-family dwelling. The program consists of the entrances and the most public spaces, organized on the first floor; the master bedroom with dressing room and en-suite bathroom, and the bedrooms for two children (9 and 4 years old) on the second floor; the quincho, a study and playroom are organized on the second floor as an extension over the stock.
The decisions regarding lighting and ventilation are aimed at adapting the house to the current urban regulations, also to give rise to well differentiated and complementary uses to the covered spaces with notably different functions. Thus, two patios are planned, an existing one, 3 meters wide, and a rear one, 4 meters wide, which is mounted over the kitchen and allows the bedrooms to be ventilated according to current regulations.
The first floor rooms are arranged around the first courtyard, which reconstructs an original organizational feature of the house's program. Thus, the courtyard acts as an expansion of the dining room, for a lunch in the shade or to take a nap in summer. The second courtyard operates, with its urban void conditions and extension of the block center, as a mid-level bellows between the first floor and the terrace. It can be a space to play, to spend a summer evening or to set up a canvas pool taking advantage of the direct sunlight.
