Edificio Morelli by Arcieri Arquitectura

Contemporary Housing in Montevideo’s Urban Core

Edificio Morelli, designed by Arcieri Arquitectura, redefines modern residential living in the heart of Montevideo. Located on a narrow urban site measuring 10 meters wide and 46 meters deep, the project maximizes its potential by adopting a courtyard housing typology. Drawing inspiration from Buenos Aires’ R2B1 zoning model, the architects created a solution that balances density, comfort, and sustainability.

The building is composed of two four-level blocks arranged around a spacious 11-meter-long central patio, bringing light, air, and social interaction into the heart of the project. This void ensures that each of the 15 housing units enjoys double orientation, natural ventilation, and abundant sunlight—qualities that elevate quality of life in a dense urban context.

Vertical Circulation and Community Spaces

The two volumes rise to 9 meters, the city’s regulatory height limit, and are connected through exterior concrete walkways. A landscaped semi-basement provides access to the building, housing nine garages and linking residents to the vertical circulation core.

Above, three residential levels accommodate a range of typologies, including studios, one-bedroom, and two-bedroom apartments, each with private terraces or patios. The architectural configuration fosters an intimate yet open residential atmosphere where individual privacy and collective interaction coexist.

The rooftop terrace becomes a vibrant communal hub, offering barbecue areas, shared recreational spaces, drying zones, and water tanks. This elevated platform not only extends domestic life outdoors but also enhances the social character of the building.

Materiality and Construction

Arcieri Arquitectura pursued a contemporary aesthetic with clean lines and simple volumetry, achieved through the use of prefabricated concrete elements assembled on-site with cranes. This construction method accelerated execution while ensuring precision and economy.

The main façade stands out as a defining feature, composed of a steel mesh skin with orsogril panels. This secondary envelope creates a 1.20-meter-wide buffer zone between the apartments and the street. Serving as both a vegetal filter and privacy screen, it integrates greenery into the architectural composition, softening the building’s urban presence while protecting residents from direct exposure.

Architecture for Modern Urban Living

Edificio Morelli represents a new way of conceiving housing in Montevideo—a balance between density and livability, privacy and community, openness and enclosure. With its bioclimatic strategies, central patio design, and expressive metal façade, the project successfully reinterprets urban housing typologies for contemporary lifestyles.

All the photographs are works of Sebastián Aguilar Aloy