House with Columns: A Modern Architectural Masterpiece

Innovative Residential Design in Villa Elisa, Argentina

Located in Villa Elisa, near Parque Pereyra on the outskirts of La Plata, House with Columns by Iñaki Harosteguy redefines modern residential architecture with its structural purity and spatial flexibility. Though rooted in a specific location, its autonomous and timeless design makes it easy to imagine in various settings.

Architectural Concept: A Playful Yet Ordered System

This 210 m² residence, completed in 2022, embodies an experimental approach to composition. The project is conceived as a structured yet open-ended design game, where strict architectural rules generate freedom rather than impose limitations. Inspired by classical principles, the house explores a grid-based layout, transitioning from the canonical Nine Squares to a more non-hierarchical Sixteen Squares system.

Structural Elements: Prefabricated Concrete and Modular Grid

At the core of the design is a Sol LeWitt-inspired structural system, composed of prefabricated concrete columns and beams arranged in a 3.5-meter modular grid. This grid establishes a hypostyle hall, an abstract forest of vertical supports that defines both form and function. The equidistant pillars and simply supported beams create a rhythmic, visually dynamic space that encourages interaction between occupants and their surroundings.

A Dynamic Interaction Between Interior and Exterior Spaces

A key aspect of the house is its blurring of boundaries between indoor and outdoor environments. Instead of rigid enclosures, the design incorporates temporary, flexible skins and accumulative filters, allowing for passive climate control and an ever-evolving spatial experience. Covered patios and diffuse atmospheres create intermediate zones, where natural elements seamlessly integrate with built forms.

A Living, Evolving Space: Open to Interpretation

Unlike traditional residential architecture, the House with Columns remains deliberately open-ended, ready to adapt to different uses and interpretations. The design recalls the utopian visions of Archizoom, where architectural frameworks serve as platforms for dynamic human activity rather than fixed spatial programs. This “No-Stop” isotropic space creates endless perceptual and functional possibilities, making the house both a shelter and a stage for life.

A Contemporary Hypostyle Hall for Modern Living

Ultimately, Iñaki Harosteguy’s House with Columns functions as a skeptical hypostyle hall, where architecture is reduced to its fundamental role of ordering space while embracing the natural disorder of life. Through its modular grid, prefabricated elements, and open-ended configuration, the house presents an architectural paradox—rigid yet fluid, structured yet flexible—creating an environment where design and spontaneity coexist in perfect balance.

All Photographs are works of Javier Agustín Rojas