House Requena by Sommet

Completed in 2025, House Requena by Sommet is a contemporary hillside residence located within a gated community on the outskirts of Santa Cruz, Bolivia. Set on a steeply sloped site surrounded by dense vegetation, the 646-square-metre house is shaped by topography and landscape, which directly inform its spatial organization, structural logic, and material expression.

Rather than imposing a singular volume onto challenging terrain, the project adopts a layered strategy that integrates architecture with the slope, allowing living spaces to unfold vertically in close dialogue with nature.

Responding to Topography and Landscape

The defining condition of the site is its steep incline and mature vegetation. These elements became generative forces in the design process, guiding the placement of volumes and the sequencing of spaces.

Sommet organized the house into two primary stacked volumes. This configuration follows the natural contours of the land, minimizing excavation while maximizing views and privacy.

By working with the slope instead of against it, the architects created a residence that feels anchored in its terrain.

Elevated Social Spaces and Panoramic Views

The social areas—living room, dining room, and kitchen—are located on the highest level of the site. Positioned above the private volume, these spaces enjoy uninterrupted views across the treetops and surrounding landscape.

This elevated placement ensures that the most frequently used communal spaces maintain a strong visual and environmental connection with nature. Large openings, terraces, and balconies frame the greenery and bring filtered daylight deep into the interiors.

Above the lower volume, its roof is conceived as an accessible terrace, functioning as an elevated patio. This outdoor platform reinforces continuity between architecture and landscape while expanding the living area vertically.

Private Zones Embedded in the Slope

The private bedrooms and family spaces are located within the lower volume, oriented toward the lower-level trees at the front of the site. Despite their proximity to ground level, these spaces remain visually protected by topography and vegetation.

From the street, this lower volume reads as an upper floor due to the change in level, giving the private areas independence from public access. The slope and planting effectively create a natural buffer, ensuring privacy without physical barriers.

This strategy allows the house to remain open to its surroundings while maintaining domestic intimacy.

Articulated Access and Structural Base

At the base of the complex, vehicular access and garage entry are defined by two curved exposed-concrete retaining walls. These walls perform multiple functions:

• Containing the terrain
• Adjusting levels between street and garage
• Structuring the entrance sequence
• Establishing a strong architectural base

The ribbed texture of the concrete reinforces material depth and highlights craftsmanship. This same finish extends across the lower volume and basement, grounding the house visually and structurally.

Material Contrast: Concrete and Metal

A key architectural theme in House Requena is the deliberate contrast between materials. The lower volume is defined by exposed, textured concrete, while the upper volume is clad in metal panels.

This juxtaposition expresses the building’s structural hierarchy: a heavy, grounded base supporting a lighter, elevated form. The contrast also enhances legibility, allowing each volume to be read clearly within the overall composition.

The material palette reflects both durability and climatic responsiveness, suitable for Santa Cruz’s tropical environment.

Refining the Roof Edge and Structural Expression

One of the project’s most distinctive formal gestures is the treatment of the upper roof slab. The slab is thinned at its edges to visually lighten the structure and enhance elegance.

Metal cladding is carefully limited to this tapered zone, producing a visual separation between the slab edge and the main concrete mass. This creates the impression that the roof is detached and floating above the lower structure.

This subtle intervention reinforces compositional clarity and demonstrates Sommet’s attention to detail and proportion.

Spatial Continuity and Vertical Living

House Requena is conceived as a vertically connected domestic landscape. Circulation unfolds gradually through level changes, terraces, and outdoor platforms, creating fluid transitions between interior and exterior.

Stairs, balconies, and patios operate as extensions of living spaces, encouraging daily interaction with climate, light, and vegetation. The house does not rely on a single focal point but instead offers multiple spatial experiences distributed across levels.

This layered approach supports both social gathering and private retreat.

Climate and Environmental Integration

The dense vegetation surrounding the house plays an essential role in environmental performance. Trees provide shade, reduce heat gain, and filter sunlight, contributing to thermal comfort.

Openings are strategically positioned to capture prevailing breezes and promote natural ventilation. Terraces and overhangs moderate solar exposure while maintaining visual openness.

Rather than relying heavily on mechanical systems, the design leverages passive environmental strategies rooted in site conditions.

Privacy Through Landscape and Section

Instead of conventional walls or fences, privacy is achieved through sectional design and planting. Differences in level, vegetation density, and building orientation create subtle separation between public and private realms.

This approach preserves openness while respecting domestic boundaries, allowing residents to experience nature without compromising comfort.

A Contemporary Tropical Residence

House Requena represents a contemporary interpretation of tropical hillside living. It combines rigorous structural logic with expressive materiality and landscape sensitivity.

The project demonstrates how residential architecture in rapidly developing suburban contexts can remain environmentally responsive and spatially refined.

By integrating topography, material contrast, and outdoor living spaces, Sommet delivers a home that is both grounded and elevated—physically and experientially.

All the Photographs are works of Paul Renaud