The site is on the south slope of the Inca Lake, just in front of the Portillo Hotel, a few kilometers away of the Argentinean border and Mount Aconcagua. This house is called a Mountain Refuge C7 and that says everything. It’s located in quiet and peaceful place at 2990 meters above sea level in the Andes Mountains, Chile. That’s a few kilometers aways from the Argentinean border and Mount Aconcagua.

The terrain is a steep rocky slope, facing the immediate view of the lake and the Tres Hermanos Mountains. Over this strong and harsh natural landscape the house disappears from its view uphill, without interfering the view to the lake. From a protected environment, inside the refuge, the mountain landscape is again the main character. The project is organized in two superposed volumes. Below, a strong stone volume contains the more private areas of the program. This stone enclosure with very controled openings helps to absorbs the variations of the snow level during the winter and anchors the refuge to the slope and its rocky surroundings.

Architects: Nicolás del Río, Max Núñez.
Collaborator: Héloïse Gailing, Oltmann Ahlers.
Location: Portillo, Los Andes, Chile.
Built Surface: 240 sqm.
Year: 2008.
Photographs: Max Núñez, Felipe Camus.

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