SIP Panel House / Alejandro Soffia + Gabriel Rudolphy

Architects: Alejandro Soffia + Gabriel Rudolphy
Location: Santo Domingo, Valparaíso Region, Chile
Structural engineer: José Manuel Morales
Client: Vicente Hidd
Materials: SIP panels, wood
Project area: 139 sqm
Cost: U$990 per sqm
Construction date: 2011
Photographs: Felipe Fontecilla

Built with SIP panels (Structural Insulated Panels), this house is conceived as an attempt to rationalize this construction material and achieve a maximum optimization of its structural and dimensional qualities. The totality of the house was configured with two kinds of components: wall panels (122 x 244 x 11.4 mm) and split-levelpanels (122 x 488 x 21mm). In just 10 days, 71 wall panels and 40 split-level panels were built. The loss of material was negligible.

Through the configuration of spatial modules comprised of two wall panels and two split-level panels, inhabitable spaces measuring 6 square meters were built. These spaces are the result of multiplying these volumes along the length of their transversal axis according to standard surfaces of use. The house is comprised of the sum of these different spaces.

The spaces are grouped according to traditional programmatic similarities, and are united by a central circulation system. The principal rooms are clustered toward the north, in the quest for an ocean view. The panels exposed on the exterior are fashioned as terraces on the second and third floors. The eastern façade of the house, close to a neighbor, is more closed-off, and the western façade opens up to the light and the view. The northern and southern faces of the house, as well as the terraces, are enveloped in a wooden skin.