Casa Segura 1124 By Primer Piso Arquitectos

Casa Segura 1124, designed by Primer Piso Arquitectos, is a compact multifamily housing project located in Godoy Cruz, Mendoza, an urban area undergoing rapid transformation and residential densification. Completed in 2022, the project occupies a 165 m² lot on a narrow, high-traffic street and delivers a thoughtful architectural response to strict municipal regulations, contemporary living needs, and the evolving relationship between housing and the city.

Urban Context and Regulatory Constraints

The site is defined by specific municipal requirements aimed at preserving the block’s interior core, particularly restricting construction in the final two meters at the rear of the lot. This condition became a key driver of the project’s spatial strategy. The architects responded by liberating the front portion of the site for vehicle access and parking, while clearing the rear to create a shared patio that satisfies urban planning regulations and improves environmental quality.

Set within a low-rise residential neighborhood, Casa Segura 1124 contributes to the ongoing densification of Godoy Cruz while maintaining a sensitive scale and strong connection to its surroundings.

Program and Housing Strategy

The project is composed of two residential units, totaling 156 m², distributed as one 68 m² unit, one 75 m² unit, and 13 m² of shared spaces. Each apartment is organized around a flexible program featuring one bedroom and a study, which can also function as a second bedroom or home office—an increasingly relevant spatial condition following the pandemic.

This typology builds upon the studio’s previous experience with compact multifamily housing, allowing the architects to refine spatial solutions, material combinations, and construction techniques tested in earlier projects.

Spatial Organization and Outdoor Integration

A central design premise was ensuring that each unit enjoys its own outdoor expansion, reinforcing the relationship between interior spaces and nature. The ground-floor apartment features two private gardens, creating direct access to green space and enhancing daily living.

The upper unit achieves privacy toward the street through a linear flower bed adjacent to the bedroom, integrating vegetation while filtering views. At the rear, a 60 cm deep window sill supports potted plants and prevents direct visual connections with the patio below. A small private patio further completes the upper dwelling, reinforcing the project’s emphasis on outdoor living despite the compact footprint.

Relationship with the City and Public Space

One of the project’s defining strengths is its dialogue with the urban context. Directly across the street lies a linear park featuring mature trees, recreational areas, and strong community use. This green corridor is supported by sustainable mobility infrastructure, including the electric tram metro and one of the longest bicycle lanes in Greater Mendoza.

Casa Segura 1124 capitalizes on this privileged location by orienting views toward the park while incorporating screening elements on the façade. These screens filter light, add texture, and provide privacy and security without disconnecting the apartments from the public realm. The result is a housing model that promotes an active urban lifestyle, seamlessly linking private living spaces with public green infrastructure.

Materiality and Architectural Expression

The material language of Casa Segura 1124 is intentionally raw and restrained. A prominent reinforced concrete beam frames the main access and supports roof elements that protect walkways and stairs from sun and rain. This beam also carries the mezzanine of the upper unit, becoming both a structural and expressive element.

Exposed concrete is paired with brick used in varied configurations, creating subtle textures and depth across façades and interiors. Metal stairs and walkways are treated as light, attached elements, contrasting with the solidity of the concrete and masonry structure. Together, beams, roofs, stairs, and walkways define a semi-open transitional space that mediates between urban exterior and private interior.

This honest expression of materials—where each element is clearly legible and justified—reflects Primer Piso Arquitectos’ broader design philosophy, which seeks to avoid unnecessary gestures and allow architecture to emerge from structure, function, and context.

Contemporary Housing in a Dense Urban Fabric

Casa Segura 1124 demonstrates how small-scale multifamily housing can respond intelligently to regulatory limitations, environmental considerations, and contemporary lifestyles. Through flexible layouts, meaningful outdoor spaces, and a strong connection to public infrastructure, the project proposes a model of urban living rooted in simplicity, adaptability, and integration with the city.

All the photographs are works of Luis Abba