{"id":971793,"date":"2026-05-19T20:47:23","date_gmt":"2026-05-19T20:47:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/971793\/"},"modified":"2026-05-19T20:47:23","modified_gmt":"2026-05-19T20:47:23","slug":"chilean-housing-prototype-separates-structure-from-enclosure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/971793\/","title":{"rendered":"Chilean housing prototype separates structure from enclosure"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ignacio Rojas Hirigoyen and Leonardo G\u00fazman Valencia in Chile<\/a> have collaborated on a prototype for modular<\/a> housing lifted on stilts<\/a> with clearly separated building components that respond to changing site conditions and allow for flexibility.<\/p>\n

For Industrialized Building System Prototype II (IBSP II), Hirigoyen<\/a> and Valencia developed built off what they learned through the project’s first prototype<\/a> in 2023, designed to address a global housing crisis.<\/p>\n

\"IBSPIBSP II is a modular home in Chile<\/p>\n

Completed in 2025, this second-iteration system expands the architectural scope of the prototype to both house people and also adapt to a changing environment.<\/p>\n

The 120-square-metre (1290-square foot) single-family residendiant prototype sits on a steep 5,000 square metres (1.2 acres) site in Matanzas, Chile. A lightweight yet resistant structure of diagonal, self-supporting stilts navigates the change in topography and separates the framework of the house from its enclosure.<\/p>\n

\"IBSPIt was raised above the sloping site on triangular supports<\/p>\n

“As a result, the envelope stops operating as a mere boundary and takes on a more active role in climatic mediation, while the relationship with the ground is resolved with greater precision and less invasiveness,” Hirigoyen told Dezeen.<\/p>\n

“What matters is not only the technical refinement itself, but what it enables: an architecture that is more legible, more habitable and better prepared to adapt to variable conditions of climate, terrain and use.”<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Industrialised<\/p>\n

Ignacio Rojas Hirigoyen develops modular building system to address housing crisis\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

The triangular arrangement of structural points allows the interior of the rectangular, two-story house to be free from internal supports.<\/p>\n

Instead, the two-bedroom house is enclosed with timber modular panels that contain cladding, insulation, shading and ventilation and function within the metal frame.<\/p>\n

\"IBSPThe external structure supports are separate from the inhabited volumes<\/p>\n

“The envelope therefore acquires a decisive role,” the team said.<\/p>\n

“It is not simply a line of closure, but a climatically active facade unit capable of improving thermal and acoustic comfort, reducing energy demand, and mediating more precisely between interior and exterior. “<\/p>\n

\"InteriorTimber panels line the internal walls<\/p>\n

A layered metal roof floats above the enclosure, distributing each piece of the prototype both physically and visually for long-term usability.<\/p>\n

Now that the structure and enclosure are no longer an undifferentiated mass, each component can be disassembled, replaced or updated without demolitions, allowing maintenance and future transformations.<\/p>\n

“The center of the project therefore is capable of offering greater spatial and environmental quality, whereas many industrialized solutions limit themselves to resolving time and cost,” Hirigoyen explained.<\/p>\n

\"InteriorA metal roof was fixed above the home’s walls<\/p>\n

The team deliberately selected a difficult site, where the steep topography, exposure to wind, salinity and intense solar radiation would test the prototype’s clarity, habitability and adaptability.<\/p>\n

Despite the challenges, the house was assembled without skilled labour in less than one day, proving the system’s ability to respond to housing needs with precision.<\/p>\n

\"IBSPThe architects intentionally chose a difficult site for the housing prototype<\/p>\n

“The site was not simply a difficulty to resolve, but a true testing ground,” Hirigoyen said.<\/p>\n

“IBSP II is not measured under ideal conditions, but against the concrete frictions of territory, climate and contemporary construction.”<\/p>\n

Other lightweight residences that were recently built to lift off the ground in Chile include a prefabricated timber house<\/a> by Irag\u00fcen Vi\u00f1uela Arquitecto, a prefabricated steel ski chalet<\/a> by Max N\u00fa\u00f1ez Arquitectos and a steel box truss-like house<\/a> by Paralelo Transversal.<\/p>\n

The photography is by Javier Agust\u00edn Rojas<\/a> and Ignacio Rojas Hirigoyen<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Project credits:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Architect:<\/strong> Ignacio Rojas Hirigoyen, Leonardo G\u00fazman
Structural Engineering:<\/strong> Pedro Bartolome
Fabrication\/Assembly:<\/strong> Ignacio Rojas Hirigoyen, Leonardo G\u00fazman<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ignacio Rojas Hirigoyen and Leonardo G\u00fazman Valencia in Chile have collaborated on a prototype for modular housing lifted…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":971794,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[3939],"tags":[209513,4021,4020,29429,130552,4022,77,7931,60230,17022,126129,126130,218696,16,15],"class_list":["post-971793","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arts-and-design","tag-architecture-on-stilts","tag-arts","tag-arts-and-design","tag-chile","tag-chilean-houses","tag-design","tag-entertainment","tag-houses","tag-modular-architecture","tag-residential-architecture-and-interiors","tag-sectionall","tag-sectionarchitecture","tag-sectionexclusives","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116603209113484909","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/971793","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=971793"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/971793\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/971794"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=971793"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=971793"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=971793"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}