Sinu River House / Antonio Sofan

Architects: Antonio Sofan
Location: Monteria, Colombia
Project Team: Jairo Gonzalez
Consulting structural and civil engineers: Fabio Gomez
Project Area: 500 sqm
Construction Cost: €500,000
Project Year: 2010
Photographs: Carlos Tobon

500 sqm house built to overlook the Sinu River, the second largest of Colombia. Its valley of fertile land and steamy weather all year around is lined up with dense gangs of wild trees that at the water’s edge brush the river current. The design concept starts with 2 white boxes connected by the access and from which large pieces are taken away creating shaded terraces. Blue color is uncovered when subtracting from the mass in the form of thin mosaic surfaces revealed by “z” shaped metal trims.

floor plan

The tallest nave houses the living, dinning, kitchen and services. The shortest mass contains four bedrooms, two of them facing the pool which runs all the way across the width of the house.

The living and dining rooms have soaring ceilings witch reach the 5 meters. Patterned painted cement tiles in shades of blue were used to clad a coffer above the living room ceiling which is as well emphasized by a light cove. A much more subtle geometry is used to highlight the ceiling above the dining room, a pattern formed by bare fluorescent light bulbs flush to the face of the drywall ceiling. While the inside has high ceilings, all the exterior shaded decks have low ceilings and are protected by the sun with two and a half meters of overhangs.