Violeta 150

 San Juan, Puerto Rico

with Maribel Ortiz

This award-winning single-family house is located on a 1,600 square meter suburban lot in San Juan.  The lot has a steep slope towards the rear site boundary. The resulting terraced scheme responds to the topography through the use of large cantilevered projections that generate outdoor living spaces. The frontal relation to the street is sober and restrained. A veiled perforated aluminum fence paired with a concrete horizontal plane sets up an entry sequence through a front patio presided by two Puerto Rican Royal Palms (Roystonea borinquena), a red Frangipani tree (Plumeria rubra), and a bosque of local Roble Nativo trees (Tabebuia heterophylla).

Once inside, the L-shape layout becomes evident with a two-story service and bedroom wing to the left and double-height living space to the right. The two-story living area opens completely into a 25-foot cantilevered terrace erasing the traditional boundaries between inside and outside. Terracing is used as a resource to deal with the steep topography of the site. The design uses a limited tectonic palette based on white stucco, exposed concrete, aluminum jealousies, and blue-green glass.  Cross-ventilation, natural light, and natural cooling through convection, form part of the design strategies utilized to respond to the tropical context. Solar water heating and recirculating water cisterns serve the house.