The inevitability of decay in architecture is often overlooked or ignored in the way it is usually envisioned and built. Once pristine lines and glistening surfaces that earmarked newly built structures eventually succumb to the effects of elemental weathering, despite the copious amounts of effort put in their maintenance. The pursuit of newness is itself entrenched deeply within a self-perpetuating consumerist cycle, and architecture isn't bereft of it. In that sense, the striving for timelessness becomes a rather futile exercise with the inescapability of disintegration. Exploring the question of responsibility that comes with such a consideration, Lebbeus Woods, American architect, artist and theorist, questioned in his popular blog: “How important is it—if at all—for architects to consider the ultimate decay of the buildings they design?”

Matías Mosquera, founder-director of the Argentina-based architecture studio AtelierM, describes an analogous idea behind his Nirvana House to STIR, "The concept of ruin plays a crucial role in the project’s identity, as it embodies the idea of architecture as a framework that evidences the passage of time. The landscape is not designed to be static but rather to evolve, intertwining with the structure in a way that reflects nature’s cycles. Over time, the vegetation will grow, transform and reclaim parts of the architecture, reinforcing the idea of a living, ever-changing space rather than a fixed, controlled environment.” Considering the project a spatial as well as a temporal experience, he tells STIR, “Architecture does not exist in isolation—it is always part of a larger ecosystem. Integrating Nirvana with its environment was a way to reinforce this connection, responding to both ecological and experiential concerns. In a broader discourse, it challenges conventional boundaries between architecture and nature, proposing a model where buildings contribute to, rather than disrupt, their landscapes.”

Located in Pilar in Buenos Aires, facing an expansive polo field, the brutalist edifice of the Nirvana House retains a well-intentioned 'wild' appeal, with its mound-like, undulating form and landscaped roof, embracing the weathered textures of wood and concrete. The design engages in a topographical play, building from the existing terrain to create a three-level garden that seems to coexist with the architecture. This is antithetical to the usual sights in residential landscape design which typically limits itself to independent ornamental value.

Consequently, the materiality of the house becomes an extension of the principal philosophy of the residential architecture. As evinced in an official release, “The main concept behind this project is total integration with the natural environment, both visually and sensorially. The house is conceived as a living element in the landscape, with gentle curves and fluid lines that adapt to the terrain and merge with the surrounding vegetation. The choice of materials such as concrete and wood is based on their ability to age gracefully and withstand the elements, ensuring a lasting and sustainable integration with the environment.”

While the house looks visually amorphous, its boundaries with the surrounding terrain reasonably blurred, the house is structured along a tangible spatial distinction; the ground floor is designed for public interaction while the upper floor remains private. The living, dining and kitchen spaces on the ground floor are designed in an open and fluid mien to retain maximum visual connection with the outdoors. The bedrooms and living quarters on the upper floor are intended to offer privacy and comfort to the inhabitants while retaining the principal design vocabulary. The connection is supplemented by large windows and sliding doors that allow natural light to flood the spaces, allowing an enhanced luminosity to create a sense of spaciousness. The landscape is not limited as an external element and penetrates the ground floor plan without explicitly interacting with the residential interiors—an expansive layer of glass maintaining visual uniformity while keeping maintenance and upkeep reasonably low. The official statement elaborates, “The three-level garden extends from the ground to the ceiling, culminating in an overlook facing the polo field, integrating vegetation organically and breaking conventional boundaries between interior and exterior, up and down.”

Mosquera describes the staircase design as the central element of the house, acting as "a synthesis of the project’s key concepts". The staircase and its curved soffit responding to the undulations of the house float over an indoor pond that functions as a natural filtration system for the biological pool, reinforcing the elemental connection between water, land and built form.

In its overall outlook—design and otherwise—the private residence expresses an evident longing for an aesthetic that aligns with the unadorned, the rugged and untamed. This unmanicured characteristic is especially a stand-out, partly because it emerges in stark contrast to the larger site and the well-kept polo fields in close vicinity, more than it does in response to it, and 'melding' with it. A visual triumph on its own, the architecture of the Nirvana House drives an experience that is at once contained, as well as draws from the bare expanse of the greens surrounding it, without necessarily being in kinship with it. With the controlled ecology of its surroundings, sustaining the ‘wild’ landscape would imaginably require significant maintenance and upkeep, essentially contradicting with the idea of the architecture's integration with the setting. It prompts an inquiry into the idea of wildness and the presence of 'nature' in architecture that it often claims and even appropriates: Can it be designed or does the act of designing inherently contradict it? Is wildness another ‘aesthetic’ that may be imitated and eventually becomes performative? Can a curated landscape become a tool to evoke a sense of imagined nostalgia for the wild, as opposed to actual local conditions? Can architecture truly acknowledge the organic passage of time, or does it merely commodify the aesthetics of decay?

Project Details

Name: Nirvana House
Location: Buenos Aires, Argentina
Architect: AtelierM
Structural design: Pedro Gea
Landscape design: Ayerza & Samaría