Casa La Roca owes its name to what has emerged as the project’s main protagonist:  a colossal enigmatic chunk of rock that occupies the rear of the property. The rock sits atop of one of the many hills that define the southern edge of Caracas, and its peak affords a spectacular view of the city. Given the excessive exposure of the site to public views and the limitation in space resulting from the presence of the rock, the aim of the design is to intimate a sense of openness while maintaining adequate privacy and closure for a domestic space. 

We took the opportunity to work with terracotta block, brick, and tile, pushing their material, tectonic and perceptual qualities to achieve this two-fold objective. The house is wrapped in a continuous surface of terracotta, and a large opening is carved out of its northwest corner in alignment with the rock. The resulting outdoor room of monumental dimensions functions at once as a living space and back yard;  shielded from public view and the elements, its faces are clad in continuous bands of sliding glass doors and windows, making its relationship with the building’s interior as seamless as possible.

Credits
Project Design: Nader Tehrani, Monica Ponce De Leon
Model Team: Natalia Maric-coordinator, Vorapochana Ansvananda, Jeffrey Asanza, Gene Miao, Kazuyo Oda, Apisek Wongvasu
Assistants: Patricia Szu-ping Chen, Thamarit Suchart, Diego Toledo, Rusty Walker