La Blanqueada House by MURO estudio: A Contemporary Renovation in Buenos Aires

La Blanqueada House, designed by MURO estudio, is a striking example of urban residential renovation in Villa Devoto, Buenos Aires. The 140 m² house takes its name both from its location on Pasaje La Blanqueada and from the whitened walls (blanqueada meaning “whitened” in Spanish). What was once a deteriorated and dark dwelling has been reimagined into a light-filled modern home that bridges heritage architecture with contemporary design solutions.

Preserving History: The Brick Vault

The original structure was in poor condition, offering only a few salvageable elements. Among them, the antique brick vault stood out for its character and warmth. MURO estudio chose this feature as the central architectural element, defining it as the public gathering space of the house.

This decision reflects the project’s guiding principle: a dialogue between past and present. The renovation preserves fragments of the home’s history while introducing new layers of architectural storytelling, ensuring continuity across generations.

Reconfiguring Space and Light

Originally, the house relied solely on a small front yard for daylight, which left most interiors dark and confined. To counter this, the architects extended the yard to occupy nearly the full depth of the lot, reorganizing the house into an L-shaped plan.

This new configuration unlocked several possibilities:

• Creation of a lush urban courtyard with greenery.
• Integration of an outdoor dining space.
• Addition of a compact urban pool, transforming the once-limited outdoor area into a vibrant living extension.

By orienting all rooms towards the northeast, natural light floods the interiors. Continuous glass walls and carpentry dissolve boundaries between indoors and outdoors, creating a seamless flow of space and a sense of expansiveness beyond the compact plot.

Indoor-Outdoor Connections

On the ground floor, transparency and openness are emphasized. A wooden cube volume houses the service areas—kitchen, toilet, and cleaning facilities—while integrating a bar space for daily family activities.

Ascending the staircase, residents encounter an urban-scale patio, which brings greenery and daylight into circulation spaces. From here, a spiral staircase leads to the roof terrace—an elevated viewpoint that offers panoramic views over the surrounding neighborhood. Despite the modest scale of Villa Devoto, the terrace transforms into a private urban lookout.

Façade and Materiality

The façade is defined by white perforated metal panels that serve dual functions: as security fencing and as a dynamic shading system. These panels can be opened or closed, allowing the house to continuously shift in character throughout the day.

The interplay of light and shadow, combined with the tactile mix of brick, wood, and metal, gives the house an ever-changing identity. This adaptability reinforces the project’s theme of ludic dynamism, offering the family flexible ways to inhabit their home.

The transformation of La Blanqueada House demonstrates MURO estudio’s expertise in urban renovation, sustainable design, and spatial reconfiguration. What was once a dark and compact dwelling has become a bright, flexible, and interactive home, enriched by layers of light, materiality, and movement.

Through thoughtful interventions—expanding courtyards, preserving heritage elements, and introducing modern transparency—this house now embodies a balanced coexistence of history and innovation.

All photographs are works of Juan Muller