A 7 m² wheeled office by Morsa Taller, the Castillo Mobile Office operates as a compact studio that can be assembled, disassembled, and re-sited with minimal disruption. Fabricated as a kit of six detachable elements, it negotiates domestic and urban contexts with a curved roof that recalls Buenos Aires buses and four lateral panels that calibrate orientation, privacy, and daylight. The project foregrounds construction logic, reversibility, and maintenance as primary design drivers.
Castillo Mobile Office Technical Information
- Architects: Morsa Taller
- Location: Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Gross Area: 7 m2 | 75 Sq. Ft.
- Project Years: 2025
- Photographs: © Cecilia Gil
We approach each commission through the inescapable problem of construction. Material testing replaces abstraction, so every prototype transfers its lessons to the next project.
– Alejandra Esteve, Morsa Taller
Mobile Micro-Architecture and Context
At 7 m², the Castillo Mobile Office operates at the threshold between architecture and vehicle. The wheeled base eliminates reliance on foundations and enables temporary occupation of residual parcels, service courts, and domestic yards without altering ground conditions. Mobility transforms site into a variable parameter rather than a fixed constraint, encouraging the unit to act as a precise insertion within changing urban or suburban circumstances.
The roof’s curved edges reference the silhouette of Buenos Aires buses, situating the object within a local industrial vernacular. This gesture is not only formal. It mediates between infrastructure and domesticity, reading as a compact piece of rolling stock while accommodating the scale of a small room. Four lateral panels incorporate openings that can be oriented for privacy or exposure, a basic yet effective tactic for adapting to adjacent boundaries, neighbors, or street fronts as the unit relocates.
Kit-of-Parts Logic and Rapid Assembly
The project is conceived as six detachable components: four side panels, a single roof piece, and a wheeled base. Fabricated in the workshop, the parts were disassembled, transported, and reassembled in a single day with a screwdriver and riveter. This direct, tool-light protocol exemplifies Design for Manufacture and Assembly, where tolerances, lifting logic, and sequencing are determined at the bench rather than improvised on site.
Each module integrates its own insulation and mechanical fastening to produce clean, readable junctions. Reversibility is built in, so individual panels can be removed for upgrade, repair, or replacement without disturbing the rest of the envelope. Custom mechanisms and carpentry follow a consistent internal logic that keeps interfaces legible, from hinge lines to panel edges, so alignment and compression at joints remain reliable as the unit is moved and reassembled over time.
Envelope Strategy and Climate Response
The envelope is layered to separate structure, insulation, and finish. Claddings are completed in situ, decoupling the primary frame from the wear layers and allowing future refinishing without compromising the system’s integrity. The approach anticipates the stresses of transport and reassembly by treating the weathering skin as a serviceable component rather than a monolithic facade.
Curved roof edges manage rainwater on a compact footprint, channeling runoff away from joints while reducing drip lines at the corners that are most vulnerable to movement. Side panel openings admit daylight deep into a small plan and can be paired for cross ventilation when conditions allow. Insulated edges and continuous seals at the modular joints aim to limit thermal discontinuities, supporting functional comfort despite frequent repositioning and the proximity of thin assemblies.
Craft-Based Method and Cross-Scale Thinking
The project stems from an experimental, material-led practice rooted in metalworking. Rather than rely on renderings, the studio advances through iterative prototypes and shop trials that calibrate thicknesses, fasteners, and hinge actions before committing to fabrication. This testing culture compresses the distance between design intent and manufacturability, and it explains the project’s disciplined junctions and straightforward assembly logic.
Documentation in concerted and axonometric drawing bridges architectural and engineering languages, fixing dimensions and sequences to support off-site production. Detailing borrows the precision of furniture while operating at architectural scale, a cross-pollination evident in the clarity of edges, reveals, and handles. The result reflects a collaborative network of local artisans and small industries in Buenos Aires, where fabrication knowledge is embedded in the architecture rather than applied as an afterthought.
About Morsa Taller
Founded by architect Alejandra Esteve in Buenos Aires, Morsa Taller is an experimental architecture and fabrication studio established after years of professional practice in diverse fields, including infrastructure and restoration. Since its founding, the studio has focused on material testing and hands-on craft, particularly in metalwork. Their architectural approach rejects digital abstraction in favor of empirical construction methods, iterative prototyping, and a direct engagement with the productive networks of local artisans and small industries. Each project evolves through the physical logic of materials, resulting in works characterized by structural clarity and exposed construction systems across varied scales.
Credits and Additional Notes
- Architects: Morsa Taller
- Construction company: Santiago Legnini and Morsa Taller
- Photographs: Cecilia Gil
