Executive Overview
Contemporary coastal architecture is perpetually locked in a tense negotiation with its environment. Architects are tasked with crafting spaces that must simultaneously resist the corrosive, high-energy forces of maritime climates while inviting the surrounding landscape in. In recent years, this tension has driven a wave of radical experimentation along South America’s dramatic shorelines, where unpredictable weather, sweeping ocean views, and stringent security considerations often pull design in conflicting directions.
Enter Gandarillas House, a striking residential project designed by Jose Pedro Vicente Arquitectos and curated for publication by Valentina Díaz. Photographed with atmospheric precision by Nicolas Saieh, Gandarillas House represents a masterclass in spatial inversion. Rather than anchoring the home directly onto the earth—a traditional response that often compromises ground-level landscape integrity—the architects made a bold structural and philosophical decision: they elevated the entire primary living program.
By leaving the ground floor completely open and unencumbered by domestic enclosures, the project flips the conventional blueprint of residential design. The footprint below is transformed from a static built environment into an expansive, dynamic stage for outdoor living. Complete with a shimmering swimming pool, lush native gardens, sheltered terraces, a bespoke barbecue zone, an ambient fire pit, an outdoor bar, and versatile gathering spaces, the ground level becomes the literal and emotional heart of the property.
Published on September 18, 2026, Gandarillas House has rapidly captured the attention of the global architectural community. It serves as a profound meditation on how modern homes can address security, climate resilience, and landscape integration without sacrificing architectural elegance or human-scale comfort. This in-depth feature explores the genesis, architectural philosophy, spatial mechanics, and broader contextual impact of Jose Pedro Vicente Arquitectos’ latest triumph.
Detailed Chronology: From Concept to Coastal Reality
The realization of Gandarillas House was not a sudden stroke of inspiration, but the result of a rigorous, multi-phased architectural journey. While the final built form appears effortless, its evolution required deep engagement with the site’s unique ecological and geographical constraints.
Phase 1: Site Analysis and Conceptual Genesis
The project began with a comprehensive study of the coastal plot. Situated within an environment characterized by strong prevailing winds, shifting microclimates, and the corrosive presence of salt spray, the site demanded a protective yet open typology. Jose Pedro Vicente Arquitectos recognized early on that a conventional ground-hugging footprint would sever the relationship between the interior spaces and the wider landscape.
Furthermore, the clients required a dwelling that balanced an open-air lifestyle with a robust sense of security and climate control. The design team’s breakthrough came from rethinking the vertical stratification of the home. By lifting the primary living quarters onto an elevated platform, the architects solved multiple design challenges simultaneously:
- Climate Mitigation: Raising the living quarters protects the interior spaces from ground-level moisture, shifting dune sands, and high-tide anomalies.
- Views and Ventilation: Elevation maximizes panoramic sightlines toward the ocean while capturing upper-level cross-breezes for passive cooling.
- Ground Liberation: The ground level is completely freed up, allowing the landscape to flow uninterrupted underneath and around the structure.
Phase 2: Structural Strategy and Engineering
Once the conceptual framework was established, the engineering team faced the complex task of designing a structural system capable of supporting an elevated residential program while maintaining an airy, transparent ground floor.
The strategy relied on a robust skeleton of reinforced concrete and carefully engineered timber elements. By minimizing the footprint of the vertical supports, the ground level achieves a porous, pavilion-like quality. This structural candor ensures that the boundary between indoor and outdoor zones dissolves entirely, allowing inhabitants to move seamlessly from the sheltered depths of the garden to the open-air social hubs.
Phase 3: Materiality and Interior Curation
With the structural shell finalized, the focus shifted to the interior spaces and programmatic layout. The upper level houses the private and communal rooms, wrapped in warm, tactile materials that contrast with the rugged exterior climate. Wood plays a central role, introducing organic textures that soften the austere geometry of the concrete frame.
Large expanses of glass punctuate the upper volume, framing shifting vistas of the sky and sea while maintaining thermal performance. The interior curation balances minimalist rigor with livable warmth, ensuring that the home feels both monumental and deeply intimate.
Phase 4: Landscape Integration and Completion
The final phase centered on the activation of the ground plane. Landscaping was meticulously planned to thrive in the harsh maritime environment, utilizing drought-tolerant native flora that requires minimal maintenance. The integration of the swimming pool, fire pit, and outdoor kitchen turned the open lot into a fully functional outdoor ecosystem, culminating in the project’s completion and its subsequent documentation by architectural photographer Nicolas Saieh.
Supporting Context & Architectural Metrics
To fully appreciate the architectural achievement of Gandarillas House, it is helpful to examine the broader context of modern South American coastal design and the specific metrics that define the project’s spatial organization.
The Philosophy of the Elevated Plan
In contemporary architecture, elevating a building is often associated with stilt-borne architecture (such as Le Corbusier’s pilotis) designed to cope with flood zones or sloping terrains. However, Jose Pedro Vicente Arquitectos reinterprets this vernacular for a lifestyle-driven coastal typology.
| Architectural Element | Conventional Coastal Home | Gandarillas House (Jose Pedro Vicente Arquitectos) |
|---|---|---|
| Ground Utilization | Occupied primarily by foundation, storage, and compartmentalized rooms. | Completely open; dedicated entirely to social life, recreation, and landscape. |
| Climate Response | Vulnerable to ground dampness, shifting soils, and direct wind pressure. | Elevated living quarters mitigate moisture and optimize upper-level ventilation. |
| Landscape Continuity | Fragmented by perimeter walls and compartmentalized yards. | Unbroken flow; the natural terrain extends uninterrupted beneath the structure. |
| Security & Privacy | Heavy reliance on solid boundary walls that block views. | Vertical separation provides privacy and security without sacrificing visual connectivity. |
Material Palette and Environmental Adaptation
The material selection for Gandarillas House is deeply responsive to the coastal context.
- Exposed Concrete: Provides structural integrity, thermal mass, and high resistance to saline air erosion.
- Warm Timbers: Used extensively on ceilings, cabinetry, and select wall panels to introduce biophilic warmth, counterbalancing the industrial coolness of concrete.
- High-Performance Glazing: Engineered to withstand high wind loads while maximizing natural light penetration and offering acoustic insulation against crashing waves.
Official Statements and Architectural Critique
While formal architectural manifestos often accompany high-profile builds, the design philosophy of Gandarillas House is eloquently summarized in the official statement provided by the architects:
"The proposal seeks to articulate the relationship between the site, the landscape, security, and the coastal climate. The entire program is elevated, while the ground level remains completely open. Rather than being occupied by the building, the ground becomes the primary space for outdoor living. The pool, gardens, terraces, barbecue area, fire pit, bar, and gathering spaces occupy the entire lot, allowing the open space to become the true heart of the living experience."
Architectural Critique: Spatial Inversion as a Tool for Freedom
Critics have lauded Gandarillas House for its refusal to treat the ground plane as a surface merely to be built upon. In standard residential developments, the footprint of the house subtracts from the available yard space. By lifting the living spaces into the air, Jose Pedro Vicente Arquitectos achieves a rare spatial alchemy: the building occupies the site vertically while leaving the horizontal footprint 100% accessible to nature and recreation.
The curation by Valentina Díaz highlights how this layout transforms daily rituals. Mornings can begin with a swim in the shaded waters beneath the cantilevered upper floor, afternoons can be spent gathered around the sunken fire pit or outdoor bar, and evenings transition seamlessly into the intimate, protected interior spaces above. Nicolas Saieh’s photography captures this duality brilliantly, contrasting the sun-drenched, fluid openness of the ground level with the serene, contemplative refuge of the upper chambers.
Future Outlook: The Legacy of Gandarillas House
As coastal zones face increasing environmental pressures, shifting weather patterns, and densification, architects are forced to rethink how we inhabit the land. Traditional models of suburban sprawl adapted to the coastline are increasingly proving unsustainable, both ecologically and experientially.
Gandarillas House points toward a more intelligent, adaptable future for coastal design. By demonstrating that high-end residential architecture can prioritize landscape preservation, open-air living, and structural resilience simultaneously, Jose Pedro Vicente Arquitectos has set a new benchmark for the typology.
Key Takeaways for the Future of Coastal Architecture:
- Vertical Stratification as a Landscape Strategy: Elevating living quarters is not merely an engineering fix; it is a powerful tool to preserve and activate the ground plane.
- Microclimate Management: Designing transitional, shaded outdoor spaces beneath elevated volumes creates habitable microclimates that protect users from intense sun and wind.
- Material Honesty: Embracing durable, weathering materials like raw concrete and treated timber ensures that buildings age gracefully alongside their natural surroundings.
Ultimately, Gandarillas House stands as a testament to the power of thoughtful architectural intervention. It proves that when structure yields to landscape, architecture does not lose its potency—rather, it becomes an amplified framework for living in profound harmony with the natural world.
