Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Thursday, Oct 02, 2025

A Black Timber Home in Chile Echoes Local Volcanic Stone

A Black Timber Home in Chile Echoes Local Volcanic Stone

From some angles, this dramatic residence resembles a pitched-roof shed, while other vantage points reveal its graduated form.

Rising from the foothills of one of Chile's most active volcanoes, this family home near the town of Pucon in the Araucanía region responds to the dramatic landscape that surrounds it. Santiago, and London based practice Ampuero Yutronic's initial concept for Casa Hualle was a simple rectangular volume, but the drawings evolved, through a series of manipulations and interventions, into a more sculptural form.



The house's dark façade, clad in vertically oriented, stained softwood timber slats, resembles the black volcanic stone structures that are commonly seen in the region.

Perched on a concrete terrace on half a hectare of open land, the residence has a monolithic black form, its tint echoing the natural landscape's dark volcanic stone.



"The geometry of the roof transforms from a typical pitched gable on the short northeast end of the façade, to a flat roof on the opposite end of the southwest facade," says cofounder Javier Ampuero Ernst. "This transition creates a dynamic arrangement of folding roof planes."

Inspired by the pitched-roof agricultural sheds found around Araucanía, the house is conceived as a single, sculptural volume with almost 2,475 square feet of living spaces spread across two levels.



The windows, which vary in size, were strategically placed to capture dramatic views of the volcano and lake.

"The rectangular footprint is extended to align the south side perpendicular to the axial view of the volcano, creating an irregular floor plan and volume," says firm cofounder Javier Ampuero Ernst. "The entrance to the house is emphasized by a large cutout in the overall volume on the southwest corner."



Passageways were carefully planned to present intriguing interior perspectives.

The roof extends above the cutout section to accentuate the entrance, and to provide shelter from wind and rain.



Polished concrete mixed with black volcanic sand is used for the floor, while the ceilings are lined in plasterboard.

In contrast to the dark exterior, the interior walls are clad in pale, stained plywood. As a result, scenes of the outdoors that are framed by windows stand out in contrast like landscape paintings against a gallery wall.



The corridor on the upper level.

The ceiling-which is supported entirely by the external perimeter wall, and uninterrupted by internal partition walls-folds and flows sinuously through the entire length of the building.



On the upper level is a corridor with a studio, library, and gallery that leads to the ensuite master bedroom.



The living room, dining room, kitchen, and two guest bedrooms are located on the ground level.

The living spaces are arranged around a central, double-height volume with the main living areas oriented on a north-south axis. Large apertures capture the best volcano and lake views, further connecting the residents with their environment.



A view of the temperate rainforest outdoors.

Says Ampuero Ernst, "Approaching by road, the house appears as a prominent, simple, black form on the hillside, reminiscent of the traditional, large, agricultural, pitched-roof sheds found in the area. In contrast, when viewed from the main valley to the north, the building nestles and blends into its rural pastoral surrounds."



Ground level floor plan drawing.



Upper level floor plan drawing.



Roof plan.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
UK, Canada, and Australia Officially Recognise Palestine in Historic Shift
New Eye Drops Show Promise in Replacing Reading Glasses for Presbyopia
Dubai Property Boom Shows Strain as Flippers Get Buyer’s Remorse
Top AI Researchers Are Heading Back to China as U.S. Struggles to Keep Pace
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
UAE-US Stargate Project Poised to Make Abu Dhabi a Global AI Powerhouse
Trump and Starmer Clash Over UK Recognition of Palestinian State Amid State Visit
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Kuwait opens bidding for construction of three cities to ease housing crunch.
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Did the Houthis disrupt the internet in the Middle East? Submarine cables cut in the Red Sea
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Cristiano Ronaldo Makes Surprise Stop at New Hong Kong Museum
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
×