Location: Maitencillo, Chile
Project size: 1,507 square feet
Program: Situated in the coastal city of Maitencillo, about two hours northwest of Chile’s capital of Santiago, El Claro is a beachside retreat for a couple, both actors. The spacious common areas have “a scenographic character to welcome social life,” says architect Raúl Herrera Daniel, who practices in nearby town of Valparaíso.
Design Solution: El Claro embodies the most familiar and cherished of residential forms—a triangle atop a rectangle, drawn from six simple lines without lifting the pencil from paper. But here, instead of a door and a picture-frame window, expansive panes of glass cap the gable end and flood the interiors with daylight. Framed and clad in timber, the simple house stands out in the Chilean steppes.
![Casa El Claro Raul Herrera](/ext/resources/*Featured%20Houses/January/Casa%20El%20Claro/Casa-El-Claro-8.webp)
Photo © Aryeh Kornfeld
Structure and Materials: Inside, pine lines the floors and walls up to the ceilings. The foundation and floor slabs are reinforced concrete, and inside the double-skin envelope of fiber cement and wood cladding, there is an energy-efficient glass-wool insulation layer. As well as cutting heating costs, this cavity wall conceals drainpipes.
Additional Information
Completion date: February 2021
Site size: .23 acres
Total construction cost: $200,000 (construction)
Client/Owner: Withheld
![Casa El Claro Raul Herrera](/ext/resources/*Featured%20Houses/January/Casa%20El%20Claro/CHA_2616-Pano.webp)
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![Casa El Claro Raul Herrera](/ext/resources/*Featured%20Houses/January/Casa%20El%20Claro/CHA_2840-Pano.webp)
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![Casa El Claro Raul Herrera](/ext/resources/*Featured%20Houses/January/Casa%20El%20Claro/Casa-El-Claro-3.webp)
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![Casa El Claro Raul Herrera](/ext/resources/*Featured%20Houses/January/Casa%20El%20Claro/CHA_2725-Pano.webp)
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![Casa El Claro Raul Herrera](/ext/resources/*Featured%20Houses/January/Casa%20El%20Claro/Casa-El-Claro-5.webp)
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![Casa El Claro Raul Herrera](/ext/resources/*Featured%20Houses/January/Casa%20El%20Claro/CHA_2742-Pano.webp)
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![Casa El Claro Raul Herrera](/ext/resources/*Featured%20Houses/January/Casa%20El%20Claro/CHA_2682-Pano.webp)
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![Casa El Claro Raul Herrera](/ext/resources/*Featured%20Houses/January/Casa%20El%20Claro/Casa-El-Claro-10.webp)
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Photos © Aryeh Kornfeld
![Casa El Claro](/ext/resources/*Featured%20Houses/January/Casa%20El%20Claro/Casa-El-Claro-51-PRESENTATION-DRAWINGS.webp)
Images courtesy Raul Herrera Daniel; click to enlarge
Credits
Architect
Raúl Herrera Daniel
Los Alelies 855
Laguna de Zapallar
Valparaíso, Chile
+56 9 71490016
@raulherrerad
Project team
Local architect: Raúl Herrera Daniel
Collaborator: Javiera De la Fuente Abadie
Site manager: Claudio Obando Burgos
General Contractor
REMOTO E.I.R.L.
Photographer
Aryeh Kornfeld
Specifications
Exterior Cladding
Metal panels: Aceros y Cubiertas Nacionales
Rainscreen: Aceros y Cubiertas Nacionales
Precast concrete: Hasbun y Cia
Wood: Sociedad Maderera de Chile
EIFS, ACM, or other: Etsa
Moisture barrier: Tyvek
Curtain wall: Patagonia Glass
Roofing
Metal: Aceros y Cubiertas Nacionales
Windows
Wood frame: Remoto E.I.R.L.
Glazing
Glass: Patagonia Glass
Doors
Entrances: Tramasa
Wood doors: Tramasa
Sliding doors: Tramasa
Hardware
Locksets: Scanavini
Pulls: Comercial Rey
Security devices: Verisure
Interior Finishes
Paints and stains: Sherwin Williams
Wall coverings: Sociedad Maderera de Chile
Floor and wall tile: MK
Lighting
Downlights: B & P
Exterior: B & P
Dimming system or other lighting controls: BTICINO