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Architects: - = + x -
- Area: 98 m²
- Year: 2023
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Photographs:Renato Duria
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Lead Architects: Francisco Tomboly, Sonia Carisimo
Text description provided by the architects. The hornero is a typical bird of our country, although it can also be found in Bolivia, Uruguay, Brazil, and Argentina. Some know it as Alonsito, casero, Tiluchi, or Juan del barro, among other names. This Furnarius rufus, its scientific name, is attractive due to its posture, but mainly because of how it builds its nest. The hornero has incredible skill in handling clay and materials to construct its home. It is known for being very restless. It has a unique way of walking when it collects the elements it needs for its house, a clay construction.
Inspired by the hornero, the idea of building a ceramics workshop using local resources was born, minimizing the transportation of materials, thus reducing the time and energy impact of the construction. Rammed earth (compressed earth walls) is used as the main material. The excavation of a pool on the same plot of land was utilized, from which material was obtained to construct the load-bearing walls of the project, allowing 100% of the excavated volume to be used in the rammed earth walls.
The project is organized around a lapacho tree that provides a central courtyard, allowing cross-ventilation and natural lighting. On the ground floor, the rammed earth walls organize the workshop spaces in an integrated space, yet sectorized for the different processes involved in working with clay, the activity that takes place here. These walls support a concrete slab that serves as an expansion terrace on the second level, around the tree canopy. The materiality of the project is further justified by the very use given to space: the creation of objects through earth.
