Santiago

Sebastián Irarrázaval Delpiano

DESIGNER: Sebastián Irarrázaval Delpiano BUILDER: Sebastián Irarrázaval Delpiano BUILD DATE: 2013

LOCATION: Santiago, Chile PHOTO CREDITS: Sergio Pirrone RATING: 5 Stars

Casa Oruga, otherwise known as the Caterpillar house, is located on the outskirts of Santiago, Chile. This iconic modern home was built for an artist and his family by architect Sebastián Irarrázaval in 2013. Sebastián is considered amongst the emerging architects in the world and is understandably rated as a top architect in both Chile and abroad.

Build Method

Reducing construction time and cost, 12 second-hand shipping containers were used to build Casa Oruga - an open top container was even used for the swimming pool! According to the owners, the house's first purpose was to integrate itself into the environment, overlooking the city where the Andes Mountain is located. The second purpose was to negotiate a sloping ground that the house could be built on. Thirdly, the owners wanted to allow air to run smoothly and easily throughout the whole house, to avoid the heat that the shipping containers can attract.

“Construction was completed in just eight months; compared to a year or more it would have taken the traditional way, pointing to one of the many benefits of prefab construction. It also has an economic impact, reducing spending up to a third of it.” Irarrázaval exclaims.
“The material palette was chosen having in mind not only low-cost materials but low maintenance as well. In the selection of materials it was also important to analyse their capacity to age well and to incorporate time passing as something that adds value to material.”

The difficulty was to place the long volumes of the shipping container house on the steep slope of the site. Elevating and cantilevering it created a livable space underneath and takes advantage of the natural features of the surroundings pushing you outwards towards the views. The house was made from containers clad with Corten Steel supported by an exposed concrete foundations and connected with lots of glass. To support the upper floor large steel I beams was used to hold the containers in place.

Glazed windows, doors and skylights are repeated all over the house, as well as grates on the bottom of every container that help allow air and light enter. The common areas were placed at the lower part of the house and are filled with floor-to-ceiling windows that again frame the amazing landscape.

The unique style and arrangement were particularly important to Sebastián throughout all his projects as he wanted “something out of this world.” “I want to do buildings that are simple and strong,” he explains. He became fascinated with the structural potential of shipping containers after he designed another home in 2000.

Interbode Thoughts

There is something super unique about this home with the alignment of Corten shipping containers jutting out from the landscape like rusty fingers. It’s industrial and light at the same time and most worthy of being a champion of the shipping container design. For us, it’s definitely in the top 10. 5 Stars!