Ocho Quebradas House

The house stands alone on a rocky headland above the Pacific, in a landscape of dry hills, low scrub and crashing waves. The Chilean design team answered this exposed setting with a compact, solid volume of concrete.

From a distance the house reads as a single block, almost a fragment of rock placed on the cliff. Deep openings are cut into its mass, framing the ocean and the coastline while protecting the interior from wind and glare.

Inside, the raw concrete continues on walls, stairs and ceilings. Rooms are arranged around vertical voids and a central hearth, and large glazed openings bring the sea into view from the living spaces. The photographs follow the house through the day, from morning light on the cliffs to dusk over the water.