Garden Houses in Fernando de la Mora

Located in the heart of Fernando de la Mora, a suburban extension of Asunción, Paraguay, Garden Houses reimagines the essence of communal and ecological living. Designed by architects Marlene Ortiz, Florencia Fernández, and Fernanda Garicoche, this housing project skillfully balances urban density with natural integration, offering a contemporary reinterpretation of traditional Paraguayan living.

Reviving Vernacular Living Traditions

The design draws inspiration from ancestral Paraguayan architecture, where life traditionally unfolded in intermediate spaces—open galleries shaded from the harsh sun yet open to natural breezes. These transitional zones, often the setting for quiet gatherings and the social ritual of sharing tereré, inform the spatial philosophy of the project. Rather than separating the house from the garden, the home and garden are conceptually unified, forming a seamless spatial continuum.

Site Context and Spatial Organization

The project is sited on a 50m x 23m plot lined with mature trees, their shadows casting a natural canopy that architects chose to preserve. The brief: design eight single-family homes within this limited footprint. Each unit, with a narrow 6.60-meter width, required clever spatial strategies to maintain privacy, ensure cross-ventilation, and maximize natural light.

The architects arranged the homes in a staggered rhythm, organizing them around three internal courtyards per unit. These courtyards become the heart of each dwelling—spaces for social interaction, relaxation, and visual breathing. The ground floor holds shared spaces like the living room, kitchen, and dining areas, which open fully onto the courtyards and rear patios, promoting indoor-outdoor flow.

Structure, Light, and Ventilation

A key structural decision was to liberate the side boundaries from columns, enhancing the spatial openness and allowing for more flexible use of interiors. Large operable windows and open courtyards bring in ample daylight and natural cross-ventilation, reducing the need for mechanical systems and reinforcing the project's passive sustainability approach.

Upstairs, bedrooms are more introverted, offering quiet privacy while remaining visually and environmentally connected to the treetops. Openings are carefully framed to provide views, daylight, and airflow—reinforcing the sensory connection to nature.

Urban Integration and Social Responsibility

Facing a 50-meter urban frontage, the project addresses the street as a collective façade. The architects unified the appearance of the eight homes by following the natural slope of the terrain and adopting consistent materiality—primarily exposed brick—creating a strong urban edge that remains contextually respectful.

Understanding that sidewalks in the neighborhood are often narrow and uncomfortable for pedestrians, the design introduces a generous setback. This intervention creates a semi-public buffer zone that enhances walkability, encourages social interaction, and contributes positively to the streetscape—a gesture that blurs the line between public and private domains.

Celebrating Community and Nature

Ultimately, Garden Houses is more than a collection of homes; it’s a socially and environmentally conscious urban statement. It celebrates a collective way of living rooted in Paraguayan identity—where gardens are lived spaces, boundaries are soft, and architecture is in dialogue with climate, culture, and community.