Pol i House

Pezo von Ellrichshausen Architects

Coliumo Peninsula, Chile; 2004
When considering centralized plans, the location of cores for circulation and servicing often dictates the
form of the spaces that surround them! "n this distinctive house, ho#ever, set high on the Chilean Collumo
Peninsula, the core has effectivel$ %een eliminated through the s&ilful integration of stairs, services and storage
"nto the depth of a heav$ pen meter #all; reminiscent in man$ #a$s of medieval fortresses #ith massive rampart
#alls!
'he house, e(uivalent in height to a modest t#ostore$ d#elling "), in fact, organized on three principal
levels, lin&ed %$ t#o voids one halfheight, the other full! 'he house also has t#o secret staircases, each set #ithin
the thic&ness of the #alls, that oppose one another in location and direction the first lin&s living, &itchen, dining
and %edroom spaces, %$ turning the southeast corner "n an anticloc&#ise direction, the second leads directl$ from
ground floor to roof terrace %$ doglegging cloc&#ise around the north#est corner, providing vie#s %oth "nto and
out of the house en route
'he ground floor living room sits %eneath the t#o voids and ") spiltlevel, #ith a su%tle t#ostep shift
defining t#o separate zones! *rom here the fulllength singlelevel dining and &itchen space ") reached via five
more steps, giving "t an elevated $et connected relationship #ith the living room! 'he t#o %edrooms are
appropriatel$ made remote, reached via the southeasterl$ antlcloc&#ise stair Each %edroom turns to face opposite
directions +#est and north respectivel$,, %oth #ith en suite sho#er rooms held #ithin the thic&ness of the
perimeter #all, #ith vie#s into the inner void, and #ith a similar splitlevel to the living room that e-tends out onto
a private %alcon$ set #ithin deep reveals
.er$ nearl$ composed as a perfect cu%e #ith a s(uare plan %ut falling slightl$ short in height the rough
cast concrete perimeter #alls are punctuated %$ a series of deep s(uare openings! 'hese either e-pose thic&
concrete reveals, #ith glazing set flush #ith the inside s&in, to give the "llusion of / metre +appro-imatel$ 0 foot,
deep #alls, or, %$ contrast, the$ allude more directl$ to the #all1s secret "nner life #here, for e-ample, the
e-ternalized north#esterl$ cloc&#ise stair pauses #ith a halflanding, #here a more revealing and honest thin edge
frames a simple unfilled opening
'he house, commissioned %$ a local cultural organization, not onl$ has a secret stair %ut also a dou%le
life! functioning as "t does as an informal cultural centre "t ") therefore more appropriate that it is at once domestic
and monumental through its composition and use of material 'he simplicit$ and po#er of its form, ho#ever, can
also %e 2ustified on more than simpl$ aesthetic terms, responding as it does to the practicalities of %uilding #ith
semis&illed la%our and %as"c materials "n an e-tremel$ remote location the Poli House #as %uilt %$ local farmers
and fishermen #ho onl$ had one small concrete mi-er and four #heel%arro#s %et#een them!
3o% 4regor$ 5 6e$ Contemporar$ 7uildings
Prevod8 'i na .u&a9i novi:, A;< 5 0=>??