A Charming Mountain Home in the Valley of San Nicolas, Colombia

Pajarera House is a charming mountain home designed jointly by Catalina Patiño & Viviana Peña. It is located in Retiro, Antioquia, Colombia, with an artificial terrace and cozy small balcony.

by Katya Oct 24, 2020 26 Images

Catalina Patiño & Viviana Peña

Pajarera House by Catalina Patiño & Viviana Peña

Pajarera House is located on the top of the south-eastern hillside of the Aburrá Valley, in the Loma del Escobero (outskirts of Medellín). The house is in the middle of a hilly, woody and green landscape.

The plot where the house is placed is very sloped, with many large native trees and views to the valley of San Nicolas (a high valley in the Central Andes Mountains in Colombia). The plot bought by the clients (a young couple, friends of the architects) had an artificial terrace: usually an ideal place to build a house. One of the main ideas of the project was to build the house elsewhere, because the artificial terrace was the only horizontal area of the plot, hence perfect for taking a sunbath, playing soccer or having a barbecue or a picnic.

The house rests on a large reinforced concrete pillar on the sloped of a mountain which resembles a palafito or a stilt house. This arrangement allows plants to grow and water to pass under the house.

The house is an amplified version of a birdhouse. It is in the middle of the trees, raised from the ground and protected by branches and leaves. The landscape can only be seen through the leaves of the nearest trees.

The access to the house is by the artificial terrace through a long and narrow bridge that connects to the social area: kitchen, dining and living room, and then goes out to a small balcony that hovers over a forest. Thus, the bridge that gives access to the house becomes the balcony that extends the building towards the woods.