- Project: A House
- Architect: Elmer Gutierrez
- Location: Peru, Trujillo
- Year: 2023
- Area: 116 m2
- Photography: Cristian Valverde
A Dialogue Between Stone, Air, and Landscape
Perched in the mountainous terrain of northern Peru, A House by Elmer Gutierrez is a poetic exercise in simplicity, climate sensitivity, and contextual integration. The project articulates a delicate balance between architecture and nature through two intersecting volumes — one solid and grounded, the other open and light — forming a composition that both blends with and enhances its surroundings.
Beyond its minimalist aesthetic, the house is a study in passive design strategies, using local materials and natural ventilation to create a self-regulating microclimate ideal for its highland setting.
Concept & Site Integration
The project’s guiding principle was to integrate built form with landscape rather than impose upon it. Located on a mountain slope near Trujillo, the residence embraces its uneven terrain through two distinct volumes:
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A gray stone-clad private block anchored firmly to the ground, oriented east to capture morning light and store heat during the day.
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A lighter, sand-mortar public volume, elevated slightly and turned toward the northwest, embracing panoramic views while allowing natural airflow to cool the interior.
The intersection of these two geometries defines the architectural identity of the house. Their contrasting materiality — stone versus sand-colored plaster — echoes the geological layers of the surrounding landscape, creating a visual dialogue between permanence and transience.
Program Organization & Circulation
The house’s organization is both rational and intuitive. The main entrance opens into a central hall, a transitional space that distributes circulation into the two wings:
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Private Volume: Contains the master bedroom, which integrates the sink and closet area while separating the shower and toilet into small, independent chambers for functional flexibility. An adjacent guest bedroom can easily double as a small private lounge.
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Public Volume: Hosts an open-plan kitchen and dining area, encouraging daily social interaction. Behind these, a laundry and storage room maintain the home’s practical functionality.
This clear zoning ensures both privacy and openness, while maintaining an efficient compact footprint that responds to site constraints.
Climate Strategy & Material Logic
Every design decision is rooted in environmental logic. The private block’s stone envelope is constructed from locally quarried, hand-shaped stone, chosen for its thermal mass properties. The heavy masonry absorbs solar heat during the day and releases it slowly at night — a vital strategy for the region’s sharp temperature fluctuations.
By contrast, the public volume — used primarily during daylight hours — employs lighter materials and higher ceilings. This configuration promotes cross ventilation and vertical air displacement, allowing warm air to rise and escape through upper openings, keeping the interior naturally cool.
Externally, the rough, tactile surfaces express authenticity and connection to place. The stone, sand, and mortar tones mirror the surrounding terrain, allowing the architecture to age gracefully into its environment.
Light, Air & Orientation
Openings are strategically positioned to frame landscape views, provide natural illumination, and capture prevailing breezes. The east-facing stone volume greets the sunrise with a soft, filtered glow, while the western façade of the public block opens dramatically to mountain vistas.
The composition’s geometry ensures that light, air, and temperature are constantly in flux — orchestrating a living relationship between the house and the environment throughout the day.
Materiality as Memory
Gutierrez’s use of local materials reflects both pragmatism and poetry. The tactile surfaces of the handcrafted stone and mortar are not decorative but functional, embodying the vernacular wisdom of rural Peruvian building traditions. Each texture tells a story of place and labor — architecture as landscape, construction as craft.
The restrained palette emphasizes form, proportion, and natural contrast, reinforcing the idea that sustainability is as much aesthetic as it is technical.
A House of Modesty and Meaning
More than a formal exercise, A House represents a return to essential architecture — one that relies on orientation, material honesty, and climatic intelligence rather than technological excess.
“Architecture here is not about domination, but coexistence,” notes Elmer Gutierrez. “The house listens to the mountain; it does not speak louder than it.”
Through its quiet geometry and timeless material presence, the project exemplifies architecture in balance with place — modern yet rooted, minimal yet profoundly human.
