Prim Estudio raises Los Tigres house above Argentina's flood plain

Argentine studio Prim Estudio has completed Los Tigres, a 187-square-metre white house on the banks of the Luján River in Villa Rosa, Buenos Aires province, designed around a single premise: contemplating the surrounding plains.

The house sits on a rough-hewn stone foundation that lifts it above a field which, according to the studio, floods multiple times per year. A corrugated zinc roof with an asymmetrical profile overhangs the low-slung volume, and a balcony is inset into the roofline. Arched windows pierce the perimeter wall.

The rectangular plan runs on an east-west axis, with an extended southern wall built to break the wind that carries across the pampas. The house stands just beyond a cluster of trees holding stables, barns and storage sheds serving the property's agricultural activities.

To fit with that existing vernacular architecture, Prim Estudio chose a contemporary version of an agrarian form. "This was the most important premise for the studio: to create a space for contemplating the surroundings," the studio told Dezeen. "It was one of the main design guidelines for the house and each of its spaces, ensuring that it would be consistent with the expansive landscape of the plain while remaining a structure of modest dimensions."

A load-bearing masonry system of aerated concrete blocks forms the perimeter wall, interrupted by red-toned wooden window frames. High-density polyurethane insulation panels sit beneath the corrugated zinc roof.

The western end of the house holds a large open-air covered patio that doubles as a garage and gallery-like barbecue space. It opens into the main living, kitchen and dining room, where a wood-burning fireplace and a curved wooden bench complement the principal window.

That window anchors the whole composition. "Undoubtedly, the house's contemplative spirit is expressed through the large, segmental-arch window that dominates and balances the composition, highlighting the simple geography of the surroundings as viewed from within," the studio said.

Other rooms operate as secondary vantage points: a loft on the upper floor and a small bedroom look out through porthole windows. Three bedrooms and two bathrooms occupy the eastern side of the plan, separated from the public spaces by an inset covered patio and a sculptural staircase.

"To achieve a sense of vertical space, a staircase leads to the loft and the north-facing terrace, which serves as a vanishing point toward the outdoors, offering a sweeping view of the sky and the horizon," the studio said.

Inside, locally sourced wood with a simple, unpretentious aesthetic pairs with red ceramic floors and pops of green in the kitchen cabinetry and exterior shutters.

Prim Estudio describes the design as stereotomic in concept. "The project is based on a stereotomic concept for the building's design – a heavy, massive, stony architecture that sits on the ground as if emerging from it," the studio said. "Within this massiveness, openings are created to let in light. Through this precise act – using a lowered arch – the design frames an expansive, uninterrupted horizon that, if not framed as a 'landscape,' might feel oppressive or monotonous."

The studio added: "Ultimately, the house succeeds in providing a sensitive and secure framework for an extreme and hostile environment."

The white painted walls follow a longstanding Argentine building tradition, reflecting the climate's strong sunlight. Project design and construction management were carried out by architect Julián Puyal, with furniture and lighting by architects Agustina Rodrigañez Riccieri and Clara Encabo, and structural engineering by Ing. Martin Invernisi.

Los Tigres joins a run of recent Argentine houses engaging rural and vernacular types, including Estudio Futuro's compact home with terracotta patios, SET Arquitectura's stilted modular house and DUB Arquitectura's guesthouse insulated with discarded sheep wool. Photography is by Javier Agustin Rojas.