Built as a summer home in the Chilean coastal city of Puertecillo, the beach bungalow was organized to fit the spatial needs of the client’s five family members plus guests. A complementary design imperative was to create a place where the energizing sea air could flow freely on nice days.

Accordingly, Estudio Valdés used the bulk of the 1820-square-foot dwelling for living space, separating the house into “transparent” and “opaque” sections. The transparent common rooms include an enclosed kitchen and family room, a connected open air sitting room, and a dining area with a covered pavilion. Large wall-to-ceiling windows line most rooms, with wide sliding glass doors allowing them to become one with the outside when the weather allows. That same glass can protect against the elements when shut. An indoor fireplace and an outdoor firepit further accommodate inclement heating needs.

The opaque segment is visibly divided from the rest of the house by an entry courtyard and compact hallway. The three bedrooms are economical but comfortable, with the primary bedroom tucked at the very back for the greatest privacy and the two others fitted with built-in double and triple bunkbeds to accommodate various combinations of kids and friends. Bathrooms between the sleeping chambers add a layer of noise insulation between the spaces.

The firm says the shape of the house is that of “an elongated shed, which occupies its height according to its uses.” Skylights along the entire ridge of the A-frame roof harness the power of the abundant sunrays to provide daytime light for the occupants.

The architects focused on locally sourced resources for the interior, lining the walls with planks of lenga beech wood. The light color provides brightness while the natural grain continues the pattern of “blurring the boundaries between inside and outside.”

The exterior is covered in dark-stained pine boards, a tree also native to the region. The pine slates are interspersed with sections of more organically shaped eucalyptus branches, creating privacy screens around the bedrooms and exterior gathering areas. The combination of branches and planks helps the retreat blend effortlessly with the surrounding forest.

The entire house rests on stilts to achieve a “clear view of the sea above the treetops,” and every enclosure is directed toward vistas of the Pacific Ocean. A collection of loose native plant species makes up the perimeter garden that also acts to hide the home’s structural supports, further adding to the camouflage effect.

Estudio Valdés was founded in Chile in 2003 as a “modern response to the needs of the new times.” In addition to concentrating on a more efficient architectural process, the studio also pledges a “greater commitment to art and aesthetics.” Although they have a strong emphasis on urban design, the M House, completed in 2020, fits their M.O. of “passionate work in the search of different architectural expressions, with original and expressive materials.”

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A New Zealand native, Glogau explored global challenges all over the world as part of his studies in Architecture and Extreme Environments at the Royal Danish Academy. His travels in Chile – among some of the 110,000 families there with no access to power or purified water – inspired him to invent a self-sustaining solution.

“I identified two raw resources which [the Chilean] communities had unlimited access to: sunlight and seawater,” explains Glogau, who now works at Danish architecture firm GXN. “I wanted to achieve a design which was sustainable, passive, and created a striking feature inside the dark settlement home. In my development process, it became apparent that I could address the lack of indoor lighting and water access by creating a hybrid skylight and solar desalination device.”

Here’s how it works: salty seawater is poured into a pipe in the bowl-shaped skylight, where solar energy is harnessed to distill it into drinkable water. A tap at the base allows owners to collect the usable water from inside their homes. The skylight also brings diffused natural sunrays into houses that are often dark due to a lack of windows. When the sun goes down, the leftover brine from the ocean water is sent into copper and zinc batteries that produce an electrical charge to power an internal LED lamp for nighttime use. This green model keeps resources efficiently cycling through the whole process.

Collaborating with local NGO Techo, Glogau was able to install his device within the Chilean community of Antofagasta. Through the course of his experimentation there, he developed a prototype that could produce 440 millimeters or 1.85 cups of potable water a day. The 12 salt-powered batteries in each skylight were able to generate 9.53 volts.

Glogau is one of six finalists in the Lexus design competition, an annual contest sponsored by the luxury car brand to discover up-and-coming makers and inventions that incorporate their three fundamental principles: “Anticipate. Innovate. Captivate.”

This year’s theme of “Design for a Better Tomorrow” allowed participants to address relevant issues of the day. “In the middle of a changing climate and a global pandemic there was a predictable urgency to the problems being addressed by the designers,” said Lexus Design Award judge Greg Lynn. “Across all the proposals we saw, there was also a humanity and intimate scale.”

Other proposals that made it to the last round include things like a terracotta evaporative wind-powered cooling system for subways, mittens that use rhythm and music to mitigate stress, and a reusable packaging material that can be assembled like a puzzle with rearrangeable pieces.

The finalists will be matched with leading mentors and given $25,000 to help them improve their prototypes. The projects will then be judged and a winner declared in April 2021.

Glogau is excited for the difference this competition can help him make. He believes that innovations like his desalination skylight are essential to the earth’s future. In order to survive climate changes and resource scarcity, he says, “we need to re-imagine our living environments in a sustainable and autonomous way.”

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Why, for example, would the same basic gabled house that works in a suburban neighborhood also be considered appropriate for the beach? Not only is the feel of the area quite different, but so are conditions like exposure to sun, wind, and humidity. Purpose-built designs that engage with the setting in a more intentional way are a lot more energy-efficient and comfortable to inhabit.

“Refugio Matanzas” by Cerda Pe Arquitectos demonstrates one way to pull this off. Placed on a sandy bank adjacent to the Rapel River and South Pacific Ocean in Navidad, Chile, this wooden beach cabin gives its owners everything they could desire: spectacular views in multiple directions, plenty of natural light, a direct dialogue with the outdoors, and protection from the elements.

The client for this project is a big fan of kite surfing, a sport that harnesses the power of the wind to ride the waves. Matanzas is the perfect place for it, so as you can imagine, it’s quite windy around it. The architects explain that “With this as a priority, we worked on a simple scheme that referred to his hobby. A roof that changes in width with respect to the base [and] a simple geometric frame that gives movement to the house and that makes the house perceived differently depending on the point of view, generating a dynamic architecture. The site is at the top of a hill, [so] we chose to place the house a few meters below the top, taking advantage of the hill as a natural protector of the south wind. In addition, a closed terrace was developed that protected from the sun and setting wind — a location that also directs the view towards the main landscape, the Rapel River.”

“The material chosen was impregnated pinewood, both for the structure and for the cladding. Pine wood is an abundant material in the area and often used among local workers. [The cabin] was thought from the beginning to have large windows with north orientation (privileging view of the landscape and abundance of sun) plus a facade with small openings to the south, thus reducing thermal losses.”

Inside, Refugio Matanzas enjoys a large common space surrounded by windows that can be opened wide to create a virtually seamless transition to the deck. Bedrooms and a bathroom are tucked into the back of the cabin, toward the hillside. The architects also left open the possibility of future expansion, just in case the client decides to grow his family and needs more room.

The result feels cocooned without being closed off. It’s especially cool that even its outdoor space is contained within the sloped roof, so you can enjoy the sights and sounds of the location without being fully exposed. All of that pine wood complements the natural setting, too, and both the shape and materials of the house fit right in with other structures in the area without feeling conformist.

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Anyone who’s visited Patagonia before is likely to appreciate the natural beauty and epic wonder the area has to offer. It’s essentially a protected outdoor playground for climbers, hikers, bikers, and other nature enthusiasts who want to explore one of the world’s most environmentally diverse regions. So it’s no surprise visitors respect lodging options that respect the land through sustainable design and function, like the Patagonia EcoCamp.

Located in Torres del Paine National Park in Chilean Patagonia, the EcoCamp is a low-impact option for travelers and adventurers alike. Its geodesic dome lodgings offer immersion into nature without foregoing any of the comforts of home. In sharp contrast to the resource-consumptive practices of a typical hotel, the Patagonia EcoCamp also runs on solar and hydraulic power for a low carbon footprint, taking steps to conserve resources and control waste at every turn.

Founded by engineers and expedition specialists Yerko Ivelic and Javier Lopez in 2001, the camp has earned praise from both visitors and major publications. That’s because it’s not only a sustainable accommodation, but a remote engagement that draws off the experience of the land’s native Kaweskar people, who have inhabited and valued the area for at least 6000 years.

As stewards of the land, the owners of Patagonia EcoCamp feel an obligation to provide environmentally-responsible travel options that allow visitors to enjoy the nature without endangering it. With this in mind, the EcoCamp has received certifications for their green initiatives. They aim to eventually incorporate more than just solar and hydro energy, but to maintain a circle of sustainable actions that set an example for other ecolodges around the world. This includes supporting the local community, culture, conservation, and commerce. They accomplish this by hiring local help, relying on local farmers to provide produce, and supplementing the bar and restaurant with food collected from the area throughout the year. The EcoCamp also invests in the education of local children by inviting classrooms to visit and learn more about sustainable practices.

To save even more energy, the Patagonia EcoCamp has fitted its domes with large windows to promote the use of natural light over artificial ones. Hair dryers are also not allowed at camp — a rule imposed as yet another lesson in unnecessary energy consumption. One unique lack-of-feature in the ecolodges is the absence of Wi-Fi. There are a number of reasons for this, but mostly the goal is to encourage visitors to interact with each other and nature rather than their smartphones.

The domes themselves are built above-ground with no concrete so they can be dismantled and removed with no impact to the land. All 35 of them are connected through a web of elevated wooden walkways that do not impact land erosion. To avoid water pollution, the compound is equipped with composting toilets. Any additional water used is filtered before being sent back to the surrounding landscape.

Visitors to the Patagonia EcoCamp get more than a bed, they get an ecotourism experience to match their interests. Multi-sport tours are available with a variety of options to meet any interest. From a stay in the peaceful and serene yoga dome to an adventurous nine-day trek through the Torres del Paine National Park, Cascada Expediciones offers a selection of adventures sure to appease the sustainable traveler. Trips include opportunities to hike, bike, kayak, ride horses, fly fish, and even head out on safari.

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The only astronomic hotel in the Southern Hemisphere, Elqui Domos takes advantage of prime stargazing in Chile’s Andes Mountains with dome-shaped tents, cabins, wooden observatories, astronomic tours and nighttime horseback riding. Mild temperatures, crisp, clear skies and lack of light pollution provide ideal conditions to take in the beauty of the atmosphere.

Located about 500km (311 miles) north of Santiago, Elqui Domos offers seven 4-person geodesic domes with large skylights placed on wooden decks, as well as four new cabins with angled windows pointing at the sky. While the domes provide a camping experience of lying beneath the stars, the cabins attempt to recreate that feeling with additional luxury.

Set on a hillside, the cabins offer views of both the valley and the mountains as well as the wide open skies. Designed by Santiago-based RDM Arquitectura, these ‘observatory’ cabins have three levels. Each has a roof terrace that functions as the main living space, fitted with telescopes to encourage stargazing.

Astronomy materials are available in each cabin, and guests are also invited to meditate or even get tarot readings. Lodging starts at $150 per night.

“Our main challenge was to carry out an intervention that would improve the domes’ living condition while highlighting the elements that make this hotel so unique,” says RDM Arquitectos. “

To refashion the existing rooms, we emphasized the role of the terrace as main living area, and highlighted a specific sense of lightness –usually found in textile architecture– by placing the cabins’ volumes barely sitting on the land, reminiscent of foreign artifacts used for sleeping, dominating the landscape, or staring at the stars.”

“For the new bedrooms (first build stage) the idea was to come up with a room type that would provide a complementary alternative ­–with better living standards than the fabric domes–, that would make better use of the available land, while maintaining and enhancing the conditions that make Elqui Domos such a special experience.”

“The fact that the new rooms had to be placed exactly where the topography changes –between the vast vegetation of the valley and the harsh, dry mountain overhang– called for bringing this condition to light. To achieve this, we conceived a type of cabin that was raised above the ground and had an inside graded space, which would negotiate the two different views –valley and mountains– by opposing two glass walls across the entire width of the cabin.”

“The transparent wall that shows the mountains was suggested as a junction between wall and sky, angled in a way that would allow it’s peak to be seen from anywhere within the cabin. At the same time it would allow to recreate the feel of lying beneath the stars the existing dome cabins provide. The roof deck was the final element, placed so that it revives the dominant and privileged position of the cabins towards the geography. “

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Sandwiched between earth and sky, this home manages to be both lift off from the site but also feel almost subterranean at the same time.

Designed by Supersudaka for a remote region in Chile, the design bends around the demands of code, ecology and earthquakes while managing to capture a 360-degree view of the surrounding valley.

Cross-ventilation and sun protection are considered, but just part of what pushed the strange topography of both the floors and ceilings of the house, which had to deform around all kinds of unique site-specific considerations.

The blend of influences goes beyond the structural and contextual to the formal as well.

From the architects:

“This house located in the Central Valley near Talca is almost a statement of how to accomplish architecture in Latin America. As the design and building process were so unsteady, starting from the site -located in an almost impossible steep hill-, to the budget limitations, a very basic grid configuration evolved to a much multifaceted formal result; both simple and complex at the same time.”

“Curiously, the principal façade when arriving to the house is the roof, designed as a complete terrace to a 360º view of the valley but also as a structural complement underneath the deck that overtakes the horizontal forces in case of earthquakes, which allows to avoid cross-bracing in the windows towards the appealing views. This wooden “envelop” is extended and returned to block excessive sun exposure in the hot summer of central Chile zone, although lets the sun to enter in the fresh early morning and in hard winter in a more inclined angle.”

“Plus, natural cross ventilation through opening of all the glass planes through the patio and external façade permits a regulation of temperature in a passive mode. Unexpectedly, this calculated geometry relates almost candidly to the nearby hills topography.”

“…The result? A mix, a bastardized design, a fusion, like a crossbreed dog, as named in Chilean: A Kiltro (mixed-breed dog).”

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Set along a gentle slope, surrounded by trees but with unobstructed lines of sight to distant mountains … well, this landscape called for an environment-engaged solution, and these architects answered with appropriate awe and reverence for the surroundings.

Filipe Assadi is a Chilean architect with offices in Mexico and New York, and has an approach and style that reflect these regional influences. This particular Deck House is at once modern and contextual – a contemporary-shaped core clad in weathered local wood that unfolds down the hill.

Raised slightly off the ground but without a surrounding railing, residents enjoying the extensive porch (and built-in pool) are at once removed from but connected to the adjacent arid sand-and-forest setting.

Inside, floor-to-ceiling glass provides a three-sided view (and easy child supervision) back out from the primary living room, while private bedroom and bathroom spaces are tucked in back where less light is required and more seclusion desired.

“The sight towards the location of Rungue, displayed as a plane inclined looking the valley, having the Coast mountain range as background. The land suggested a large terrace, a platform from which it is possible to admire the overall scenery.”

“The project starts having in mind a deck of wood. Over this platform would be incorporated the different areas of the house. Nevertheless, the resources were exclusively aimed at this terrace, and the interior space was enough only for a large living area incorporated to this terrace. It was decided, therefore, to assign almost all these resources to resolve the housing based on two main components: a deck and a living area, being this later one capable of absorbing the kitchen, the dinning room, and even the master bedroom. Additionally, considering that in a summer holiday house dormitories are only used to sleep, it was decided to eliminate this concept, changing it for ‘a group sleeping area at which the space aimed at dormitories almost fully disappears from the project.'”

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