Located in La Jolla, in Canete, Lima, Peru in a row of new houses on a lot of 300m2, the La Jolla Beach House was designed by Jose Orrego to use the slope of the land to create a home that incorporates all the social and private zones on two levels and all the service activities below in a basement – all easily accessible from the outdoors. The social zones are all within the top volume and the walls of glazings that expose the back of the home create an indoor/outdoor lifestyle comfortably situated under the shade of the cantilevered roof-line. At the far end of the covered terrace a pool is exposed to the sky above while a short flight of stairs leads to the backyard.
The front of the home is positioned just a few feet from the road and a short driveway leads to the 3-car garage illuminated at night by a series of elongated rectangular voids within the garage doors. The volume above the garage appears to float in mid air as the only sign of connection is through a couple of exposed columns peaking out from the separation between the two levels. The cantilevering of this level creates a stunning geometric composition that is further enhanced by a series of vertical columns on the side of the building that create a striped pattern of light and shadow. The creativity of this cubic façade is exciting.
A stone wall anchors La Jolla Beach House to its landscape while at the same time helping the white volume above to “disappear” into the sky’s clouds. This visual effect keeps the home feeling smaller then it actually is.
From the backyard the “disappearing act” works in reverse. Here, the stonewall melds into the earth below while the crisp blue of the pool and the bold orange of the stairwell are framed captivatingly by the white facade drawing your eye towards the cheerful colours and holding you attention.
The poolside terrace is a luxuriously shady setting within the hot climate of Peru and here an outdoor galley kitchen combined with the pool and lounge areas creates an outdoor living zone that is fully equipped leaving you almost no reason to head indoors.
The view from the terrace is amazing – especially at sunset.
The social zone of the home can be accessed from the backyard staircase via the pool terrace or from a flight of stairs that leads up from the volume below. With the awesome views through the wall of glazings, the architect positioned the dining and living areas to make the most of the vistas and chose to locate the kitchen at the back of the large open plan. Behind the kitchen is a guest bathroom and two bedrooms, a guest bedroom and a main bedroom – both with their own private bathroom.
The kitchen is a contained room with a large void on the social side of the room allowing the chef to enjoy the views through the glazings. The large void is fitted with a counter that has a bar overhang keeping the kitchen accessible from the social zone for both snacking and socializing.
Even the views through the side windows are maintained with the use of a tempered glass rail system on the stairwell.
The stairs lead down to the lower level and at the base of the stairs a large sliding glass panel creates access to the side yard. This first floor has a family room, 2 bedrooms and 2 main bedrooms all with their own bathrooms and walkin closets in the main bedrooms. There is a second staircase that leads down to the basement where 2 service bedrooms, a bathroom, a closet, a laundry area, and a boiler room are located.
Jose Orrego
