Casa Moon by ROBLESARQ (Robles Arquitectos), located in Ojochal, was built for a family from India who was looking for an experimental space that would allow them to enjoy a healthy atmosphere with little impact on the environment.
Casa Moon by ROBLESARQ
Casa Moon, or The Moon House, is located in Ojochal, a Costa Rican village surrounded by dense forest and great ocean views.
The House was created for the Shivji family from India, who were looking for a home that would allow them to enjoy a green, but comfortable environment.
To solve their needs, the San José, Costa Rica based architecture firm employed the use of bioclimatic strategies that would be both energy efficient and provide a comfortable temperature for those living within.
The House’s skin makes it function as a living organism in the natural environment. Taking advantage of the ecological variables without the user’s intervention, the space can automatically maintain its thermal comfort.
The project is comprised by three modules graphically shown as bulbs, two of which are occupied by the social area and surrounded by a mass of water that improve the interior environment, natural lightning and cross ventilation.
The third bulb contains the private area where the bedrooms are located. The structural composition of this last zone is not as open as the others so the thermal mass is manipulated to generate a more appropriate space for its use.
The construction process is reduced due to the modular design and the use of the fewest number of materials necessary.
The design process represented the opportunity to use low cost strategies in order to improve the home’s functionality.
The construction process led to the opportunity of using local human resources which simultaneously helped the communities’ economy and at the same time taught them different and better ways of building an innovative project with low ecological impact.
Architectural plans for levels 1 and 2:
Architects: ROBLESARQ
Location: Peninsula de Osa, Costa Rica
Architect in Charge: Juan Robles
Alvarado Design Team: Juan Robles, Isabel Bello, Erick Guevara, Emilio Quirós, Adriana Serrano, Andrea Solano
Area: 250.0 m2
Year: 2013
Photographs Andrés García Lachner
