DSP APARTMENT BUILDING
Design Team:
Gabriel Cáceres, Daniel Lazo.
Collaborators:
John Miller, Tomislav Mímica.
Location:
Santiago de Chile / Chile
Built Area:
385 m2
Project Year:
2018-2019
Materials:
Precast concrete, steel, glass, expanded aluminum mesh.
Model:
Nicolas Allende
Renderings:
Ken Qiu
Photography:
Daniel Lazo
Description
The city of Santiago like many other capitals of the developing world is going through a fast-paced urban transformation process. Long-neglected parts of the city have seen a dramatic surge in real estate development and construction over the last 20 years. The city’s downtown neighborhoods have been affected like no other. Mostly abandoned to economic and institutional roles during the eighties, the new century has brought a steady, exponential repopulation process. Along with the positive outcomes—like the reappreciation of public space and urban life—rising real estate prices and rents are making it increasingly difficult for the new urbanites to find housing, while predatory urban development practices threaten to erase the very character that brought them to these neighborhoods in the first place.
The Ochoalcubo DSP project proposes a sustainable way for housing development. Fitted in a lot previously occupied by just one residence, it’s an exercise in micro-scale density. Three different apartment typologies are housed inside a precast concrete shell: a 1730-square-foot duplex apartment on the ground floor with a large backyard; a 700-square-foot studio apartment on the second floor; and a 1400-square-foot penthouse at the top that enjoys the whole rooftop. At the center of the building, an ethereal steel-plate staircase, painted bright cerulean, provides access.
The building structure is basically a shelf that spans the width of the property, built with precast walls and a double-tee flooring system, traditionally used for multi-story parking garages given the long spans it achieves without the need for central support. This single quality allows for the multiplicity of types inside the building, making each floor’s interior effectively independent from the one below. An expanded aluminum veil covers front and back facades providing both shade and privacy from the street.
