This Forest Home in Chile Is Elevated to Float Among the Trees

In the Los Ríos region, Hebra Arquitectos perches an H-shaped house on pillars to make its interior feel like a tree house.

Text by

Julia Brenner

Photos by

Marcos Zegers

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Our Focus series shines the spotlight on the details: the extraordinary materials, spaces, and ideas that take great projects to the next level.

Nestled in a dense, native forest in southern Chile’s Los Ríos region, this dwelling by Hebra Arquitectos is designed to immerse the homeowners in the surrounding woods—a bit like a tree house.

The H-shaped structure separates the living and sleeping areas while allowing natural light to reach the center of the plan.

The couple—a psychologist and a sculptor—initially commissioned the project as a vacation house while they were living in Santiago during the height of the pandemic. When they realized that they could continue working remotely, they decided to make it their full-time home.

Glass doors slide open to create seamless transitions between the interior and exterior living areas.

The Roble Huacho House’s upper level provides views of the surrounding forest. — The Roble Huacho House’s upper level provides views of the surrounding forest.

Architects Simón Pérez, Vicente Cubillos, and Esteban Cubillos designed the residence with an H-shaped plan in order to satisfy three main objectives: to avoid humidity, harness natural light, and provide immersive views of the surrounding forest.

Since the region is seismically active, the team built two reinforced concrete cores to brace the structure and host ground-level workspaces. Then, they erected 100-by-100-millimeter metal pillars in a four-by-four-meter grid to lift the living areas high above the forest floor.

To address the region’s seismic activity, Hebra Arquitectos reinforced the structure with two concrete cores.

The glass-encased home lights up like a lantern at night.

The architects say that they used metal for the framework and staircases "to keep the structural expression as slender as possible." The sleek silhouette is accented with locally sourced wood cladding, which visually connects the home to the surrounding forest. Banks of windows wrap around the upper level, while clerestories set beneath the V-shaped roof bring in additional natural light.

The structure’s facade is clad in locally sourced wood.

Clerestory windows bring in natural light and views of the surrounding treetops.

The bedrooms and common areas are separated into two distinct wings connected by a window-flanked, wood-clad bridge. The home’s elevated stance and extensive glazing make it feel almost lighter than air, while filling the interior with forest views for days.