Atelier Cambre is a live-work studio located in the forested landscape of Los Cocos, Argentina, where a compact brick volume is carefully inserted into a natural clearing. Conceived for a painter, the project organizes space, light, and materials to support artistic production while maintaining a precise, restrained relationship with its environment.
Atelier Cambre Technical Information
- ArchitectsEsteras Perrote
- LocationLos Cocos, Punilla Valley, Córdoba, Argentina
- Project Years2023 – 2025
- Photographs© Javier Agustín Rojas
Architecture becomes an enclosure that gathers and enables, where light and proportion allow the act of painting to unfold without constraint.
– Esteras Perrote
Site Strategy and Landscape Integration
The project occupies a natural clearing within the native forest of Los Cocos, a site shaped by intermittent watercourses and dense vegetation. Instead of clearing or reshaping the terrain, the building is positioned to exploit an existing void, allowing the surrounding ecosystem to remain largely undisturbed. This approach reduces physical intervention while reinforcing the perception that the structure has been placed rather than imposed.
Two primary axes align the building with the edges of the clearing, establishing a geometric order that relates directly to the irregular landscape. This alignment produces a condition in which the volume appears both embedded in and distinct from its surroundings. The forest remains continuous around the perimeter, framing views and filtering light, while the building maintains a clear boundary defined by its geometry.
The low horizontal extension of the main volume, combined with the brick’s muted tonal variation, allows the structure to merge visually with the terrain over time. Subtle shifts in plan geometry register the presence of architectural intent, introducing moments of tension between natural irregularity and constructed precision.
Geometric Composition and Spatial Organization
The atelier is generated through the rotation and intersection of two rectangular prisms. This operation produces a composite figure that is neither purely additive nor subtractive, but instead the result of a controlled misalignment. The resulting plan, visible from above as a faceted footprint, organizes both interior and exterior conditions through its geometry.
A secondary, detached volume accommodates services and vertical circulation. Positioned tangentially to the main body, it establishes a mediated threshold between arrival and entry. The narrow passage formed between the two volumes compresses movement, directing the approach through a confined space before opening into the larger studio interior. This sequence heightens spatial awareness and frames multiple perspectives of the main volume.
Circulation extends vertically to a walkable roof terrace, which introduces an elevated plane from which the surrounding landscape can be observed. Movement across levels and between volumes constructs a spatial narrative defined by shifts in scale, enclosure, and orientation. Windows and openings are positioned to reinforce this experience, framing specific views rather than offering continuous panoramas.
Light, Proportion, and the Working Space
The central studio is conceived as a proportionally controlled volume tailored to the act of painting. At 5 meters high and with an elongated plan, it accommodates large-format works while providing sufficient distance for critical viewing. The relationship between width and depth supports both individual production and the simultaneous display of multiple pieces along continuous wall surfaces.
Light enters primarily from above through a series of linear skylights that run parallel to the length of the space. This zenithal illumination produces diffuse and stable lighting conditions, minimizing shadows and preserving chromatic accuracy. The ceiling structure modulates incoming light, creating a rhythm that reinforces the room’s linearity without disrupting its visual continuity.
Vertical slit openings at the ends of the long walls introduce cross ventilation while maintaining the integrity of the wall planes as working surfaces. These apertures also subtly divide functional zones within the studio, distinguishing areas of production without resorting to partitions. The result is a space that remains visually unified while accommodating environmental performance and spatial differentiation.
Material Logic and Environmental Performance
The building is constructed with load-bearing brick walls that provide both structural stability and thermal mass. This choice draws from regional construction traditions while addressing the climatic conditions of the mountain environment. The brick envelope moderates temperature fluctuations by absorbing and releasing heat throughout the day, reducing reliance on mechanical systems.
Internally, the material palette is deliberately reduced. White surfaces define the primary studio walls, transforming them into active fields for artistic work. The floor, executed in natural wood, introduces warmth and tactility while marking programmatic distinctions through changes in board orientation. Metal elements, including railings and structural components, are expressed with clarity and restraint, supporting circulation without competing visually with the studio space.
Environmental strategies are integrated at multiple scales. Cross ventilation, controlled solar exposure, and the thickness of the envelope contribute to interior comfort. Water management is addressed through on-site absorption, returning runoff to planted areas, and maintaining the clearing’s ecological balance. The reliance on locally sourced materials further reduces environmental impact while reinforcing a construction logic grounded in place.
About Esteras Perrote
Esteras Perrote is an architecture office based in Córdoba, Argentina, founded in 2021 by Lucía Esteras and Gonzalo Perrote. Their work operates at the intersection of research, design, and built practice, approaching each project as a singular inquiry that explores the relationships between technique, material, and craft, with construction understood as both a cultural and spatial act.
Credits and Additional Notes
- Client: Juan José Cambre
