- Project: BT House
- Architect: Jorgelina Tortorici & Asociados
- Location: Argentina, Adrogué, Buenos Aires Province
- Year: 2017
- Area: 411 m2
- Photography: Alejandro Peral
A Calm Urban Refuge Framed by Strong Geometry
Set on a corner lot in Adrogué, BT House pairs a disciplined architectural language with warm, everyday livability. Two carefully proportioned wings form an L-shaped plan that cradles a private garden, turning the home inward to light, landscape, and family life while the street faces a more reserved, protective shell. The strategy delivers a house that feels simultaneously solid to the city and open to nature.
Concept & Volumetric Strategy
The diagram is clear: embrace the garden. One wing hosts the social spaces; the other consolidates bedrooms and quiet rooms. The living–dining–kitchen sequence is elevated by half a level, creating long, unobstructed views across the terrace to the pool and lawn. Below that lifted slab, services and garage are tucked away, keeping the ground plane light, uncluttered, and fully devoted to daily life.
Circulation avoids anonymous corridors. Instead, thresholds are articulated as rooms—a generous entrance flanked by planted patios, a deep gallery that doubles as an outdoor living room, and sliding partitions that allow spaces to expand for gatherings or contract for intimacy.
Site, Orientation & Envelope
Facing two streets, the house responds with two distinct characters:
- Primary street façade: a quiet, almost blind plane of exposed concrete that ensures privacy and thermal stability.
- Secondary street & garden sides: large openings protected by micro-perforated metal shutters and deep overhangs that filter sun, air, and views.
The operable skin lets the family tune daylight and privacy throughout the day. Combined with the L-plan’s protected courtyard and cross-ventilation, the envelope supports passive comfort in a region of hot summers and cool winters.
Structure, Materials & Atmosphere
A restrained palette underscores clarity and durability:
- Reinforced concrete provides structure and a tactile, timeless finish.
- Steel columns decouple structure from enclosure, allowing wide roof projections and generously glazed walls.
- Neutral, noble surfaces—stone and timber—anchor the interiors, while built-ins designed by the studio keep lines clean and storage integrated.
- Perforated metal screens animate façades with changing light, adding depth and a subtle sense of movement.
The result is an architecture that feels precise yet relaxed—robust enough for family life, elegant enough for quiet contemplation.
Program & Daily Life
- Arrival: A sheltered entry sequence between two green patios mediates the shift from public street to private home.
- Social Wing (elevated): Living, dining, and kitchen align with the terrace and shaded gallery, blurring the boundary between inside and out.
- Private Wing (grounded): Bedrooms and study sit on the quieter side, more closed to the street and directly connected to the garden.
- Service & Garage (semi-buried): Discreetly organized below the main slab to keep social areas open and luminous.
- Garden & Pool: The courtyard becomes the spatial heart—daily routines spill outdoors beneath the gallery, where shade, breeze, and reflected light set the tone.
Light, Shadow & Seasonal Performance
The gallery, overhangs, and operable shutters orchestrate seasonal comfort: shading in summer, sun admission in winter, and all-day glare control. Openings are placed for cross-breezes, while the L-shape creates protected microclimates across the terrace and pool deck. Material mass (concrete/stone) tempers temperature swings, supporting low-energy living without sacrificing generosity.
Why It Matters
BT House is a precise lesson in how to make privacy and openness coexist in a suburban corner plot. With a simple L-diagram, disciplined materials, and a fine-tuned envelope, Jorgelina Tortorici & Asociados deliver a home that feels confident to the street and generous to its garden—a durable, climatically responsive model for contemporary family living in Buenos Aires.
