Argentinian studio BHY Arquitectos has renovated a 1980s house in Buenos Aires, adding a two-storey, gabled greenhouse to the compact residence.
Known as Casa Wiz, the 205-square metre (2,206-square foot) home is located on a grassy lot in Campo Chico, Argentina.
Bracamonte Hajnal Yerba Arquitectos (BHY Arquitectos) completed the renovation in 2024 to extend the crisp lines and angles of the once bright-red house.
“We wanted the intervention to be precise and contrasting but at the same time to be very respectful of what exists, and to generate a blurred boundary between the old and the new,” the team told Dezeen.
“The geometry, materiality and drawing of the existing roof were the source of inspiration to design the new architecture.”
The team expanded the upper floor by replicating the roofline with a garden terrace surrounded by a greenhouse form constructed of a lightweight metal frame wrapped in a translucent screen of open mesh that supports vines.
The greenhouse addition faces the street, creating a layer of privacy for the interior program, allowing the house to “take refuge behind the translucent structure”.
With climbing vines, the outer greenhouse wall becomes a “vertical landscape” when viewed from the inside and outside of the structure.
On the other side of the house, the team enclosed an unused terrace with a third gable. This portion was wrapped in white standing seam metal with a round porthole window to provide a sleek juxtaposition to the textured brick of the original house.
Inside, the ground floor was restructured to expand the kitchen with floor-to-ceiling windows that look out to a small patio and rectangular pool, enhancing the connection between the interior and exterior.
A small service space is tucked behind the kitchen.
Across the glazed entry vestibule in the centre of the house is the living room, which has windows looking out either side and is set off the house in a T-shaped plan.
It contains a spiral staircase leading up to the second floor, where the third gable becomes the expanded primary bedroom and private balcony.
The upper level is reserved entirely for the family‘s private rooms, with two smaller bedrooms that lead out to the terrace in the greenhouse.
Like an inverted treehouse, a delicate metal staircase inside the greenhouse descends to the children’s playroom.
“The project tries to respect the language of the existing house but resignifies it, seeking the maximum use of available resources and demolishing as little as possible,” the team said.
BHY Arquitecto’s signature all-white designs are spread across Buenos Aires. Completed in 2023, Casa Vedia features multiple interior courtyards and patios to maximise an infill lot, and, completed in 2018, Casa Lucia features stacks brick blocks with limited glazing to reduce energy costs.
The photography is by Javier Agustín Rojas.
Project credits:
Project team: Javier Bracamonte, Juia Hajnal, Gonzalo Yerba
Collaborators: Maite Alvarenga, Franco Stinga
Construction company: Construye seco
Landscaping: Ana Pessio
