Bunker House by Estudio Botteri-Connell in La Plata, Argentina

Project: Bunker House
Architects: Estudio Botteri-Connell
Location: La Plata, Argentina
Photography: Gustavo Sosa Pinilla

Bunker House by Estudio Botteri-Connell

The bunker house designed by Estudio Botteri-Connell is a unique and captivating residence located in La Plata, Argentina. Built for permanent living as well as visits by children, friends and couples, this house was designed with various concepts in mind. The goal was to create a space that integrates social life with the outside world while simultaneously offering a cozy retreat.

The house has two distinct parts: the Bunker and the Open Action Zone. The Bunker is a solid, sealed, and nearly impenetrable element, while the Action Zone is permeable and constantly shifting, blurring boundaries. The interior layout of the Bunker—warm, soft, and expansive—creates a unique living space that is almost like an intimate sanctuary. The spiral staircase leading to the Bunker creates a sense of ascent and draws one into its mysterious world. The Open Action Zone, composed of transparent membranes, white walls, and large tiled surfaces, defines areas within the larger space that effectively become the boundaries of the plot. This house offers a unique and captivating living experience that challenges perceptions of time, space, and architecture.

"Gravity creates SPACE, and Light creates TIME. Architecture as a BUILT IDEA" - Alberto Campo Baeza.

Designed for permanent residence and visits by children, friends, and couples, the house emerged from numerous concepts discussed with the client aiming at architectural solutions: "a home capable of integrating social life directly with the outside world, having a space for protection and comfort. A place to stay while the rest of the house sleeps. A space for self-reflection; a temporary oasis."

In response to these ideas, the house visually consists of two different elements: The Bunker, which is solid, sealed, and nearly impenetrable; and the Open, permeable Action Zone that blurs boundaries and constantly changes.

The Bunker is a unique poetic image, a primitive refuge, a home for solitary dreams and intimate space. Nearly devoid of external influence, it "opens" to a broader world while keeping its inhabitant in full reality. The Bunker appears as stone, immobile and immortal, like carved from a cliff. Yet lines intersect it, shape and engrave... GRAVITY, LIGHT, WATER and AIR define TIME AND SPACE. Its interior layout—"heartbeats of those who live in it"—determines a warm, soft and expanding heart... Geometry is overcome.

The spiral staircase ceases to be merely an element of connection between distant points, becoming the entrance into a cosmic and mysterious world that moves away from everyday life, an impression of "ascent" caused by the development of axial focus… Infinity.

The Action Plan—made up of transparent membranes, white walls and large tiled surfaces—defines areas embedded in a larger one that effectively becomes the boundaries of the plot. Neutral green and its varying degrees of saturation. Water, playing a leading role in daily life, sometimes mirror, sometimes entertainment, but always a link between WORLD AND ME. Light softly passes through concrete walls. Gravity constantly faces challenges.

Lines reappear: Family lines, Friend lines and Work lines create a constant flow of space. This is a place for social life. Among them, concrete walls rise above the stage.

-Estudio Botteri-Connell