Matías Correa Díaz - Gonzalo Vegas - Luís Villagra - Diego Zapata - Ricardo Vivanco
Our house is placed on Fray Jorge National Park, a natural reserve in the middle of the semi-arid north of Chile, remnant of the glacial periods of the planet and supported until these days by the – “Kamanchaka” (A native word from the Aymaras that means Mist and Darkness). During high temperature days, the Sun evaporates the Sea and the Mist travels from the beach to the peak of the mountains, moistening everything in its path, supporting the hydrophilic forest and sustaining life of this unique ecosystem. This recurring phenomenon inhibits visual stimulation and creates an atmosphere of auditory and tactile contemplation, the user is surrounded by a soothing mist of calm and tranquility, an optimal environment for introspection and the development of a creative process. Distant, Subtle, and Submerged in the Mist, our proposal seeks to last independently but at the same time collectively, using the “Kamanchaka” and integrating itself into the forest collaborative system based on the moisture and radiation.
The needs of water and comfort are sustained by external membranes that will provide water to the inhabitant in a continuous way, also the presence of large openings created by the structure to capture solar radiation and that will maintain a temperature completely different from the outside living, keeping the person protected but at the same time, living the weather.
The refuge is composed of a unique element of wood as a channel, which varies its length and configuration to accommodate formal and structural needs, without affecting the interior continuity inside the rooms, letting the user flow as the water brought by the mist. The proposal does not seek to compete with its context, but instead merging in its own way of being an organism within the Forest and Within the Mist.
