El Tome House: A Minimalist Second Home Immersed in Chile’s Natural Landscape

El Tome House by COLECTIVO is a serene second home nestled in the secluded hills of Papudo, within the municipality of La Ligua, Chile. Surrounded by gentle slopes, native shrub vegetation, and sweeping views of the northern mountain range, the project uses the landscape as its primary design generator. The architectural team envisioned a compact yet expressive volume that would open generously to the surrounding topography, allowing the natural environment to shape the living experience.

A Home Designed Around the Landscape

From the beginning, the brief emphasized creating a retreat that celebrates its remote setting. The architects responded with a horizontal volume that ensures the interior spaces remain visually connected to the terrain. The public areas—living room and dining space—are positioned at the heart of the house, offering unobstructed views across both fronts of the building. This dual orientation allows sunlight, fresh air, and natural elements to flow into the home throughout the day.

Indoor–Outdoor Integration Through Sliding Glazed Openings

To enhance openness toward the mountains and maximize natural light, COLECTIVO incorporated full-height sliding windows along the northern façade. These windows can be completely opened, merging the living area with the exterior terrace and blurring the boundary between indoor comfort and outdoor living.

Along this same façade, a continuous shading structure was designed. This element serves multiple purposes:

• It encourages climbing vegetation to grow naturally across the structure.
• It controls intense summer sunlight by creating a living green filter.
• It allows warm sunlight to pass through during winter months.

This strategy reinforces the home’s seasonal adaptability while visually weaving the architecture into the surrounding landscape.

Light-Filled Interiors and Optimized Orientation

All bedrooms are oriented north to capture mountain views and abundant morning light. The kitchen, however, turns inward, avoiding southern exposure. Instead, it is illuminated by a large skylight that floods the space with natural light while also marking the home’s main entrance. This vertical opening becomes an architectural gesture that enhances both functionality and spatial experience.

Materiality that Blends with Nature

The architects opted for black-painted pine paneling throughout the exterior walls, skylight, and privacy screens. This material palette allows the home to sit quietly in the landscape, reducing its visual impact and complementing the surrounding vegetation. The dark tone creates a minimalist, contemporary character while ensuring the building harmonizes with its rural context.

A Thoughtful Retreat in the Chilean Hills

El Tome House stands as a testament to COLECTIVO’s ability to craft spaces that respond to climate, orientation, and terrain. Sited in the peaceful hills of Papudo, the home balances openness and privacy, minimalism and warmth, durability and sensitivity to nature. With its strategic views, natural light, and immersive landscape connection, the house becomes an ideal second-home retreat—simple, functional, and deeply rooted in its environment.

All the photographs are works of Carlos Molina