Córdoba-based architecture studio Sincresis Arquitectos has completed a single-storey family house in Córdoba, Argentina. Comprising two volumes that interlock each other, the house forms a cross shape that creates different angles and spatial arrangement inside.  

Named X House or Casa X, the project is located north of the city of Córdoba, Argentina, immersed in the environment of a closed neighbourhood on the outskirts of the city. 

Located on a corner lot measuring 20x30 meters, the position of the house is defined by the orientations and existing vegetation. The construction lies on the major axis in order to preserve the existing trees and to generate openness towards the north. 

The architects created a harmonic atmosphere in the front of the yard to which the opening of all the environments will be directed. This is done with the help of landscaping and working the terrain in order to create a filter in the contact of the house with the street.

"The X House is developed under the premise of maintaining the continuity and fluidity of both the indoor and outdoor spaces," said Sincresis Arquitectos. 

"In Casa X,  plasticity plays a fundamental role, expressing itself in the form of two ribbons that structure the upper and lower levels."

The first one emerges from the ground as the floor of the social spaces and folds while becoming the ceiling of the private areas, keeping the same height in the bedrooms and the bathrooms. 

The second one forms the floor of the bedroom area and becomes the ceiling for the kitchen, living room and dining room, extending into a gallery with a barbecue, and presents a two-way inclination gesture (longitudinal and towards the bottom of the construction) that increases and prioritizes the angle of visuals from the social area to the outside.

Following an elongated layout, the house creates surprising spaces in the interior, specifically in the inter-section of the volumes. "The scheme of the organization of the spaces is crossed longitudinally by an axis of circulation that divides the service spaces, located in the back," the studio added.

Guests and owners access to the house through the centre, leaving the bedrooms on one side and the living room, dining room and gallery to the other. 

The strip of services is in turn sectioned by a courtyard, separating the dependencies of the social area (kitchen, laundry, barbecue) from the ones of the private area (bathroom and dressing room) and providing them with natural light.

The architects use three main elements regarding the materiality to give its specific functions. Concrete is used to materialize the main skeleton of the construction. Because of its plasticity and movement the imprint of the facade is generated in a central point. 

In order to emphasize it, it is given a white finish. The side enclosures have glass as a primary material, forming boxes contained by the slabs.

"In the social sector, this material is presented almost exclusively, while in the bedroom sectors it is combined with masonry to generate privacy for each of the spaces," the office added. 

The slabs extend as sunscreens, generating a large shaded space into the open gallery and barbeque sector. As a second visual and solar filter in the bedroom sector, mobile panels of perforated sheet are installed.

Casa X was designed at a time of full exploration of Síncresis Arquitectos, which resulted in the generation of the concept of Habitable Sculptures. 

"This governs our way of conceiving architecture, from the emotional and sensory experience to the past, present and future of our clients," explained the studio.

Plan of the house

Model

Project facts

Project name: X House 

Architects: Sincresis Arquitectos

Location: Córdoba, Argentina

Size: 195 m2

Year: 2018

Lead Architect: Diego Barrera, Alejandro Cadelago, Marina Gaviglio, Priscila Erguanti, Santiago Di Ascenzi, Tomas Gastaldi, Lorena Vega Bosch

Technical Leadership: Marisa Fernandez

All images © Gonzalo Viramonte

All drawings © Sincresis Arquitectos

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