This project originated with a private commission to build a wooden shed on a family-owned plot in the town of Curacaví, located in a valley 45 minutes west of Santiago de Chile, halfway between the capital and the coastal town of Valparaíso.
The new shed re-interprets the branch canopy traditionally built in central Chilean rural areas, replacing the existing structure with a construction that consolidates the central space within the 2 ha plot as a family meeting point.
The proposal consists of a structural system that understands the canopy as hut, as shelter for the family. It avoids formalizing the shed as a sum of vertical supports for the horizontal plane and rather seeks continuity between the roof and the support points.
Site plans
Plan
Front view
Structure details
Having to build the structure with the family itself or the community implied having to rely on simple execution solutions. The entire proposal is executed with 2” x 8” brushed Arauco pine boards arranged in the manner of a textile mill supported by compression by a 9 cm diameter steel tube that crosses and articulates the pieces. Lengths of 4.5 m are employed for support strips and 1/3 plus 2/3 of 4.5 m for roofing strips. This geometry lends the project a dynamic quality, making it seem paused in movement.
