The Milguaduas residence is nestled within a native guadua forest—home to the largest, strongest, and most economical tropical bamboo. Designed to seamlessly blend with its natural surroundings and the sunken terrain, this home presents a subtle first impression. Its clean white walls, inward-facing guadua screen, and concealed entrance create a visual illusion that sets thoughtful expectations for visitors.
This home draws inspiration from the rural houses of the Colombian Coffee Growers Cultural Landscape (PCCC), reinterpreting traditional designs within a contemporary environmental context to create timeless appeal. A broad foundation elevates the white walls off the ground, featuring a hollowed interior that serves as a bookshelf area for the home office. Outside, this foundation forms seating that faces the forest.
Encircling the bench is a traditional corridor lined with slender iron handrails. These rails depart from conventional fencing, almost seamlessly merging with the surrounding landscape. Meanwhile, the traditional gable roof with its characteristic shape and materials subtly conceals these architectural details.
The design follows the concept of “allocating different areas for different activities,” inspired by Hungarian architect Marcel Breuer. The house is divided into two main zones: a leisure area and a gathering area.
The leisure space is positioned beneath broad, open eaves outdoors, while the gathering area is enclosed indoors, composed of a modern livable roof alongside three continuous gable roofs. These spaces interact irregularly through a guadua screen, which acts as a curtain-like facade element that narrows inward.
This vertical guadua screen integrates the natural bamboo into the home, creating a solemn, downward-sloping entrance to the gathering area and enhancing the subtle connection between the two zones.
The gathering area is designed as an expansive, multi-level space that fosters interaction while preserving a balanced and unified hierarchy between rooms. A guadua-lined walkway guides visitors toward the forest view, offering glimpses of the activity happening below and setting expectations for indoor living.
The living room’s passageway broadens from narrow to open, drawing attention to the strip-shaped shadows cast on the cement tiles—creating an atmosphere reminiscent of wandering through a forest. Centrally located on this floor, the open kitchen connects seamlessly with adjacent rooms, while the open dining area, sheltered by a roof, serves as an intermediate space between the interior and the exterior of the home.
The terrace, partially hidden behind the guadua porch, is a favored spot for local wildlife.
The Milguaduas residence emphasizes sustainability by utilizing natural materials and thoughtful design to minimize environmental impact and energy consumption. The architect carefully selected five key materials: locally sourced guadua bamboo, pristine white walls, poured concrete, black welded metal, and baked clay.
These materials showcase monochrome palettes and rich textures in their purest forms. By separating the roof from the outer cladding and offsetting the gable roof eaves from the livable roof, the design maximizes natural light and ventilation inside.
This offset also mirrors the terrain’s varied levels, with rooms and living areas positioned lower. The livable roofs, which collect rainwater, are situated between traditional clay tile gable roofs, forming a frame that embraces the surrounding forest.
The platform created by these roofs, along with the sculptural curved staircase leading to it, introduces a modern touch to traditional architectural forms.
Project Drawings
△ Axonometric diagram
△ General layout diagram
△ First floor plan
△ Roof plan
△ Elevation drawing
△ Elevation drawing
△ Section diagram
△ Section diagram
△ Section diagram
△ Section diagram
△ Detailed drawing
△ Detailed drawing
△ Detailed drawing
△ Detailed drawing
△ Schematic diagram of spiral staircase
△ Analysis chart
△ Analysis chart
△ Analysis chart
△ Analysis chart
Project Information
Architect: Ritmo Arquitectos
Area: 520 m²
Project Year: 2021
Photographers: Yeferson Bernal, Juan David Toro
Lead Architect: Juan José Álvarez Sanz
Resident Architects: Paula Díaz, Juan José Álvarez Sanz
Co-architect: Juliana Muñoz
Location: Pereira, Colombia
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