Houses in the Forest: Examples That Dialogue with the Environment in Latin America

What role do forests play in our daily lives? In what ways can they be converted into living spaces? What strategies can be implemented to reduce the environmental impact of our buildings? On the International Day of Forests, which is celebrated every 21st of March, this year we propose to raise awareness of the links between forests and our daily lives. Even though deforestation continues to advance, forests represent a source of great economic, social and ecological benefits.

While multiple factors such as sunlight, accessibility, runoff and others must be considered when implementing an architectural project within these environments, forests play a fundamental role in combating climate change and respecting them would benefit not only present but also future generations.

Under the slogan “Forests: sustainable consumption and production”, the objective for 2022 is to call for the choice of sustainable wood for both people and the planet, consuming and producing it in a more environmentally friendly way. As an easily renewable resource, wood is capable of providing bacteria-free food and water in kitchens, building countless furniture and other accessories, replacing materials such as plastic, weaving new fibres for clothing and even, through technology, becoming part of the field of medicine or the space race.

The following is a selection of houses distributed throughout Latin America that use different materials and construction techniques to develop living spaces that seek to reduce or minimise environmental impact while respecting the environment and generating a dialogue with their natural surroundings:

Un Patio House / Lucas Maino Fernandez

• Location: Molco, Chile
• Year: 2021

“Given the conditions of the terrain, one of the main challenges of the project was its placement. The characteristic denseness of the forest establishes complex problems in relation to issues of protection of native species, sunlight, and accessibility. Due to this, the decisions of the project are proposed with simple and clear gestures.”

Tiny Modules/ SET Ideas

• Location: Argentina
• Year: 2021

“This house is designed for living in the forest. The most important thing is harmony with the environment to achieve the minimum impact and maximum benefit, and as you will see, the minimum is a concept that governed as a premise for all the decisions taken at the time of designing and building. Fewer metres, more architecture.”

Bioclimatic House in Villa Parque Siquiman / APS/ Pablo Senmartin arquitectos

• Location: Villa Parque Síquiman, Argentina
• Year: 2021

” […] the process proposes to delve into design, constructive, sustainable, and bioclimatic logics that incorporate new country-city relationships, reversing the historical processes of production of materials, from the extractive in situ to the low-impact dry-assembled, since The impact of our activity on the current environmental deterioration is key, construction works represent around 70% of global carbon emissions and more than 60% of the use of resources.”

Avandaro 333 Residential Complex / Zozaya Arquitectos

• Location: Valle de Bravo, Mexico
• Year: 2021

” […] a project with a coarse density displaced in a contained area, allowing the abundance of natural and common areas, promoting the full development of the users and the community. Likewise, the complex has a wastewater treatment plant and a storage system for irrigation of green areas, reducing the impact of the project on the site.”

Wild House / Mazpazz Arquitectura

• Location: Palmichal, Costa Rica
• Year: 2021

 ” […] a brutalist tropical haven. The house is 100% OFF-the-grid and relies on solar energy for power and on spring water captured uphill on the property. The architect’s intent for this project was to frame the surrounding nature and capture the cosmic energies of such a privileged site. The materials for the house were carefully chosen to age well in the gruelling elements of the tropics […] the pure geometrical shapes of the design, create the desired contrast between the architecture and the natural surroundings.”

Kaizen House / Rama Estudio

• Location: Tumbaco, Ecuador
• Year: 2021

“The house is implanted in a grove of carob trees in the middle of a slightly sloping topography, trying to influence the natural environment in a minimal way. They took advantage of the benefits of the shade thrown by each of the existing trees.”

6×6 Shelter / Colle-Croce

• Location: San Andrés de Giles, Argentina
• Year: 2020

“Adaptable to the irregularities of the terrain on which it rests, this small construction works as a complement to the main house. Its temporary use allows a reduced program and gives it a self-sufficient condition, since, in certain environments, it can work “unplugged” from the supply networks. ‘Camping’ in suburban lands or natural spaces such as plains, forests, mountains or beaches, with a comfortable base, and always respecting the environment with minimal impact, was the founding purpose.”

Ocoxal House / A-001 Taller de Arquitectura

• Location: Valle de Bravo, Mexico
• Year: 2020

“For the client, it was very important to inhabit a space that could generate life cycles with the environment, that is why the leitmotif of the project was to create a bridge with the territory, through the conservation and use of existing natural resources that will be a source of vitality for the vegetables and the fruit trees (all the existing trees on the property were preserved), as well as the bees and the chickens.”

ZGZ House / iHouse estudio

• Location: Blancarena, Uruguay
• Year: 2020

“The commission was to generate a rest home, cosy as are the small typical wooden cabins of the hemisphere where it resides, but in a contemporary enclave that can also withstand the vertiginousness of modern life and contemplate all the comforts of it, as well as rational use of resources trying to minimize the environmental impact.”

Fortunata House / Luciano Lerner Basso

• Location: Brazil
• Year: 2020

“Its insertion in the landscape is a direct response to the constraints of the place. Aiming at a minimum intervention in the topography, the main volume is supported by a piloti that delicately touches the ground and adapts to the natural conformation of the terrain. […] The native vegetation was preserved almost in its entirety. If it were possible for a huge crane to lift the house and land it somewhere else, the original terrain would remain practically intact, with no traces of the construction.”

House in Molvento / Tectum arquitectura

• Location: Los Molinos, Córdoba, Argentina
• Year: 2020

“The site, gently sloping towards the lake, is characterized by a treeless clearing within a dense eucalyptus forest. There is where it is decided to position the house so as not to affect the existing grove.”

Native House / David Regalado Arquitectura

• Location: Malacatos, Ecuador
• Year: 2020

” […] the site remains as a forest mostly intact, preserving the existing ecology of the place to this comes the name of the project “Native House”, the importance of the history of the commune is transcendental, the most important economic activities are agriculture and artisan brick production, reason why its owners, a Canadian couple, asked us for a house that could adapt to its natural environment, its topography and generate the least possible impact on the landscape.

Black House/ ArquitectónicA Cecilia Yarmuch + Alejandro Aguilera

• Location: Consolapan, Mexico
• Year: 2020

“The house “rises” to allow the growth of the roots of the trees, the passage of wild animals; let rainwater flow and prevent contact with wet soil. Thus, cross ventilation dehumidifies the environment to always have comfort and health. In contrast, the study “is buried”, and is integrated into the garden with a green roof, to have a view from the house that cannot be perceived.”

3×3 Retreat / Estudio Diagonal

• Location: La Unión, Chile
• Year: 2019

“Design a comfortable rest place providing disconnection with work. For everyday use, but not intensive. Try to not disturb the natural surroundings conversely enhancing them. […] This clearing between the trees presents an opportunity to minimise the impact that construction may have on the forest.”

Guayacan House / Salagnac Arquitectos

• Location: Nosara, Costa Rica
• Year: 2019

“Casa Guayacán was built in masonry, metal, wood and glass under common construction methods in the area. […] In the part of energy saving, Casa Guayacán has a solar panel system that provides 100% autonomy day and night. As a final result, the design of Casa Guayacán is a composition of simple lines and geometric solids with a detailed lattice of serial woods, a combination of solidity and transparency.”

Patagonia Complex / Estudio Base Arquitectos

• Location: Patagonia, Chile
• Year: 2019

“The project has a small environmental impact since it is capable of producing all the energy that requires through a series of photovoltaic panels installed on the roof, and stores the energy in batteries inside the houses. The entire electrical project is designed to function on low-consumption LED equipment.”

House 81 / TAM – Guillermo Elgart

• Location: Mar del Plata, Argentina
• Year: 2019

“The most valuable thing lies in the Eucalyptus forest that resides there. The objective is to not touch any of it, but instead, to be part of it. One of the main tasks was the 3D survey of all the trees in order to find the clearings we could use. […] The house is a journey, it is being at any level, outside and inside, under or above, like climbing the limbs of a sturdy tree.”

Woven House / Santiago Pradilla + Zuloark

• Location: Nocaima, Cundinamarca, Colombia
• Year: 2019

” […] we are obsessed with proposing architectures with materials that are more in keeping with the places where they are located, generating less impact, providing high-quality architectural solutions and innovation, without all of this entailing an excessive increase in price. Casa Tejida’s premise has been to explore and try to innovate in this aspect by working with prefabricated solutions, but with a high degree of craftsmanship where the woodwork and metal details have been produced as pieces of a puzzle to be assembled on-site very quickly.”

House in the Woods / WEYES Estudio

• Location: Santiago, Mexico
• Year: 2018

“The project seeks to make the most of the resources provided by the immediate context, the vast vegetation creates a microclimate of shadows and cool breezes that contrasts with the extreme climate of the city. We are located below the tree canopy but floating from the natural terrain. Gaining views, ventilation and controlled sun exposure. The guiding idea of the project was to achieve a ‘Minimal Footprint’ on the site.”

Forest House / L2 Arquitectura

• Location: Melipilla, Chile
• Year: 2018

“The commission includes three main conditions: a simple programme that responds to the life of its owner, who wanted to move away from Santiago to live surrounded by nature; the best optimisation of monetary and natural resources; and finally, total respect and care for the environment where it would be located”.

C House / Estudio PKa

• Location: Costa Esmeralda, Argentina
• Year: 2018

“The biggest challenge we faced was to think of a different way of seeing the house from the forest path; starting with the side access that invites us to dive into the forest and then enter through the centre via an internal courtyard. Including the vegetation and nature inside the house was prioritized at all times, generating courtyards of different scales, obtaining a fluid interior-exterior relationship. […] The correct orientation was prioritized to reduce the energy cost of air conditioning and heating.”

Mallarauco House / OF Arquitectos

• Location: Mallarauco, Chile
• Year: 2018

” […] to carry out the whole structure and partitioning of the house by means of a prefabricated wood system, with which we minimized the times of work, the impact and the possible damages that the construction could cause to the existing trees considerably. In addition to this, establish a link with the predominant materiality of the place.”

Nonosi House / Inverse Project

• Location: San Antonio, Costa Rica
• Year: 2018

” […] A sustainable home with low energy usage and minimal environmental impact was a key goal. Fortunately in Costa Rica, 90% of electricity production is produced from renewable sources such as hydro, geothermal, and wind energy. Despite this, the designers still strove to reduce energy usage significantly. […] The reusing of a large portion of the existing structure helps reduce CO2 emissions.”

Casa R / Felipe Lagos

• Location: Vilches, Chile
• Year: 2018

“This house has two floors, in order to rescue the views of the valley above the tree’s foliage and landscape. This decision also has to do with occupying the ground on the first floor to avoid ecological damage or removing trees. Because of this, the house placement didn’t affect any type of native tree or plant.”