Amazing concrete house for sale in Chile pushes the limits of design

Every now and then, an architect really thinks outside the square and delivers something quite extraordinary.

That’s exactly what Pritzer Prize-winning Chilean architect Alejandro Aravena has done on a cliff-top high above the Pacific Ocean.

Come at this building from behind and you could swear you were looking at ancient stones – a sort of square-edged Easter Island edifice.

But this concrete house, which is the third stage of a development in Ochoquebradas, is a magnificent 250 square-metre holiday home.

The architect says he set out to “explore the possibilities of primitivism; a place of retreat that allows us to return to the purest and most essential way of life”.

“That is why there is no fireplace, but a place for fire, and its concrete walls aspire to age-like stones, gentle with nature, yet brutal with the passage of time.”

Even the elemental architecture borders on the primitive: “The three volumes of concrete, one on top of the others, can easily be confused with the rugged landscape.”

Designed to inspired tranquility, the main level accommodates the living room, dining room, kitchen, patio with bonfire / fire pit, and the master suite with a walk-in closet and bathroom. All the spaces can be integrated, thanks to large windows and sliding walls that allow open-loft living or privacy.

• Related: Inside a modern, mid-century home
• Related: The hotel paying tribute to the art deco era
• Related: Tiny townhouses built for a fraction of the cost 

On the other three levels, there are three bedrooms each with its own bathroom, offering privacy and a close relationship with the magnificent landscape. There are also two imposing terraces – an intimate covered terrace on the top floor, and on the entrance level a large terrace suspended above the ravine.

Aravena says Ochoalcubo is considered an “architectural laboratory” that’s unique in the world. Just 4km from Los Vilos, there are 800 hectares of virgin land, facing the sea – a magical place with dramatic cliffs, bays, dunes and rock formations, where Ochoquebradas is developed.

Recognised Japanese and Chilean architects have been invited to design houses. Among them are three Pritzker winners, Kazuyo Sejima, Ryue Nishizawa and, of course, Alejandro Aravena.

And now, this house has been listed by Yolanda Tejeda of Sotheby’s International Realty in Chile. It is on the market for around US$1.45 million (AUD$2.011 million).

• This story originally appeared on stuff.co.nz