Living in the middle of a tropical jungle presents certain challenges, to say
the least. Here, nature is at its most energetic: humidity, heat, wild storms, not
to mention animal life at all scales... It keeps the adventurous who try it, on
their toes. It’s also brutal on buildings. It eats wood, crumbles concrete, rusts
metal, terminates the most determined protective coatings, and makes a joke
of paints and stains. Architects and clients who take on the jungle must start
the process with a measure of humility, and end up with a good deal more. This
expansive, welcoming abode in Costa Rica is a combination of openness and
protection, ambition and modesty.
Occupying a sloping site that descends to a creek, the house is a steel frame
under a shading canopy-roof of corrugated metal. A basic frame grid allows
some segments to be closed in with glass, others to be screened from sun glare
but open to ventilating breezes, and still others to be completely undefined,
like covered shelters made by trees. The views outwards and through itself are
paramount to the building’s design approach, leading to an atrium-like space