Architect: AGRA Arquitectos
Location: Apulo, Cundinamarca, Colombia
Completion year: 2016
Area: 109 m2
Photographs: Claudia Quintana y Martín Anzellini
On the outskirts of Bogota. Particularly in temperate zones, more and more houses are rising as second homes for city dwellers. This represents an interesting opportunity for architects but, above all, a challenge because these constructions have an important impact on local culture and the rural landscape and environment. The House in Apulo is located on a hill, facing the west and the breeze, in front of a majestic landscape of the Eastern Cordillera of Colombia.
With this in mind, the concept of this project is to return to the values of local vernacular architectural typologies and building techniques. The House in Apulo –following the principles of the constructions of the region – has a double cover: the first one in the concrete slab to close the rooms and to protect from animals and the second in wood covered with Calicá palm to shape the entire interior space.
The result is a simple house that offers different alternatives of use and, in the landscape, is simply “a palm shed”.
