A Cozy Box

This 58 square-meter residential project in Santa Sofía has a bedroom, bathroom and kitchenette. This left the pre-existing house as a communal space with a kitchen, study, visitor’s bathroom and living room. The original house was exposed to the outside in order to link the interior with its landscape. The new project needed to be a more private and independent space, in keeping with the pre-existing construction.

The rectangular floor plan measuring 10 × 6 meters has a living room on one side and a bathroom-closet-kitchen area on the other, separated by an irregular-shaped patio to provide lighting throughout the day and closing off the volume for increased privacy.

The exterior uses a mix of dark colors, creating streaks and textures that blend it into the surroundings. The box, dark on the outside, is therefore transformed into a white space that links the interior and exterior with the plants on the light-filled patio.

The finishings were selected with the client, lending a subtle touch to define a unique and cozy space. Sleeping, showering, eating, reading, getting dressed, reading, listening to music coexist almost simultaneously, with the layout of the components creating a fluid dialogue between the inhabitant and the project.

Juan Agustín Soza (Santiago de Chile, 1973) graduated in architecture from the Universidad Central (2002). He founded his practice in 2004. He was awarded the First International Prize in Environmental Architecture at the Bienal Iberoamericana de Quito (2006). He teaches at the Universidad
San Sebastián.