House N | Cheng Franco Arquitectos

House N designed by Cheng Franco Arquitectos, The project is a 972m2 house, located within a private 24 acres site, outside the city, in the coastal region of Piura, north of Peru. It is surrounded by non-occupied sites and it is approximately 6km off the main road. The site is currently used as a hatchery for horses, the Peruvian Horse, a breed of light pleasure saddle horse known for its smooth ride. There are approximately 50 horses on Site. The brief asked for a holiday type house with minimum 4 bedrooms, large social areas, a wine cellar and a room to hold horse competitions trophies.

The project sits on the highest part of the site, between the horses’ stables and the training and exhibition field. It has two floors and a basement. The proposal consists of three elevated, cantilevered, clearly defined volumes, overlooking at the landscape of open fields and desert areas, seating on top of the social and service accommodation, all articulated by a triple story height void which holds all the trophies and the wine cellar. The main stair, a circularly shaped steel staircase, is located within this vertical void and it is connected to the different levels by small bridges. The idea was to use the stair as a platform from where the user can contemplate all the various trophies.

Each volume has a different function and orientation, the first one, which is the closest to the horses’ training and exhibition field, is the roof canopy for the main terrace; the second one, which is the tallest volume, contains the main bedroom; and the last one contains the 3 guests’ rooms. The three volumes cantilever over a grass road that can be used by the horses to go from their stables to the training and exhibition field.
The proposed material and finish for the social volume at ground level is mainly on exposed concrete. The volumes above are all covered in Corten steel panels with different size perforations. The size and amount of the perforations respond to the privacy levels and type of ambient behind the panels. The proposed palette of materials looks at a minimal and uniform look, which despite its simplicity generates constant changing lighting effect.

Internally, the exposed concrete finish continues at ground level and on the double height areas. The dormitories are all painted white but contain large portions of glass which allows no only the views to the outside but also the exposure of the steel structure that support the cantilevering volumes. The trophies area is all covered in extruded rectangular MDF boxes which not only hold the different trophies and wines but also function as lighting features.
Piura, due to its geographical location, is both tropical and arid at the same time. The weather, rainy sometimes, is mostly stable and have pleasant summer temperatures in the lows 30s and mid-20s °C. The area where the site sits, even the site itself, was mostly desert; the land was then worked to allow for adequate conditions for a hatchery of horses. The house can be described as a country house, but it is fact a house in the middle of the desert.

Project Info:
Architects: Cheng Franco Arquitectos
Location: Piura, Peru
Author Architects: Lorena Franco, Jorge Cheng
Area: 972.0 m2
Project Year: 2017
Photographs: Jorge Cheng
Manufacturers: Hunter Douglas US, Vibia International, Caesar VERSE
Project Name: House N