Living on the highest peak

The BYL Houses are located on the highest buildable area of the slopes on the south side of Cerro Manquehue, Vitacura, Chile. The houses rest on the mountain at 1,638 meters above sea level, rising as the highest peak in the Valley of Santiago. In its natural state, the 5,200 m2 plot is characterised by its steep slopes, of which were partially and leveled prior to allow for the houses, internal road and swimming pool.
Designed by Cristian Romero Valente + Raimundo Gutierrez Frías, the project aim consisted of reforming and taking full advantage of the existing house, to build two new and independent houses for two families.
The biggest challenge was to give each house independence from the other. The west wing hosts the sleeping quarters and the east wing with the living, dining and kitchen area. The west house is configured by a volume of three floors, while the east house is located longitudinally with respect to the land, forming a rectangular building of two floors. The latter extends in its length protruding from the other house, in order to build its main access and expand the surface of the common areas.
On the first floors, the material used for the construction was the exposed concrete. The upper levels were structured with beams and pillars where wood and steel are combined. The main views of both houses naturally look down the slope of the hill to the south, where you can see the entire valley of Santiago. Controlled and skylight inputs are projected in the spaces orientated towards the spectacular vistas.