BEAM TEAM

A Chilean practice reaches new heights with a contemporary tree house on stilts on Chiloé Island

- NASRA ABDULLAHI

Architecture

Casa Detif's pine exterior frame and stilts, all painted red, contrast with the surrounding greenery, comprised of up to 15m-tall arrayán (myrtle) trees

Guillermo Acuña is fascinated by the traditional stilt houses found in the south of Chile. His Santiago-based firm, Guillermo Acuña Arquitectos Asociados (GAAA), has long focused on crafting contemporary iterations of this typology. It 'expresses the possibilities of the orders of the plant kingdom and traditional construction in wood and fibres, which manifests the impressive geography of Chile', says Acuña.

the living area features large glass walls and exposed pine beams

The studio's latest take on this design ethos is Casa Detif, which is named after its idyllic site on the easternmost rim of the town of Detif, Chiloé Island, in the southern Los Lagos region. Chiloé, derived from the indigenous Mapuche word chillwe, or 'seagull place', is most easily accessed by boat or light aircraft. The island faces the Pacific Ocean to the west, and the Sea of Chiloé and southern Andes mountains on its eastern horizon. The house sits in a natural clearing of woods on a sloped terrain, the result of the Chiloé Archipelago's diverse geological formations of rolling hills, bays and estuaries. The uneven topography allows for expansive and uninterrupted views of the sea, with frequent sightings of whales and dolphins.

the slanted red frame is inspired by the shape of the Lapageria rosea bellflower, Chile's national flower