Schenkar Construction Featured In ARCHITECTURAL DIGEST | POLAND
The house is located in Guatapé, known as the most colorful city in Colombia. It is about an hour from Medellín, in the Andes Mountains region.
Colombia enchants with the beautiful and majestic Andes, high-mountain freshwater lakes, lush forests and spectacular views, says architect Alex Schenkar, founder of Schenkar Construction.
He wanted to fit his project into the landscape, local vegetation and the close company of the lake – the town is located on Embalse El Peñol-Guatapé, one of the largest and most beautiful lakes in Colombia.
Comfort and modernity
The area of this two-level house is 372 square meters. The space includes 5 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms, an office, a cinema room, a large kitchen, a living room, and terraces and verandas stretch over 186 square meters.
The interior of the house is comfortable, equipped with modern design and the latest technologies. The geotechnical strategies used prevent soil erosion, and collected rainwater is reused.
While implementing this project, I spent a lot of time in the city and the lake region. The area became an ideal place to fully present the skills of our studio, recalls Alex Schenkar, an architect and urban planner with 18 years of experience.
It was important for the project to use geotechnical techniques that would prevent soil erosion problems and at the same time create a sustainable living space integrated into the landscape. The involvement of local specialists at every stage was also crucial.
Extraordinary location
Situated on a hill, the house is uniquely suspended above a steep cliff. The first floor has an open floor plan with expansive views of the lake and El Peñol Rock. Each room has a private bathroom. All rooms offer views of the lake and the Andes Mountains. The house is set at a special angle so that it is possible to admire both sunrises and sunsets.
The architecture is based on innovative construction technologies – especially the use of steel, glass and concrete. Each of our houses is a luxury product that meets the architectural style, interior layout, spatial design and interior design desired by the client, emphasizes Alex Schenkar.
In the case of this project (which can be successfully replicated in another part of the world) – the biggest challenge was the unavailability of the plot, steep topography and complicated logistics. We couldn’t use traditional machines to excavate, pour concrete or drill piles. All the work had to be done by hand, recalls Alex Schenkar. The construction of the house took 1.5 years.
The house is fully insulated to manage heat loss during the different seasons and has solar panels for sustainable energy production.
Natural rainwater is collected in cisterns and then used for irrigation and charcoal filtered for drinking purposes.
The roof was designed using recycled metal panels. Domestic water is heated by a high-efficiency boiler with an efficiency of 95 percent, which delivers water on demand with minimal waste.
The team also donated unused steel, concrete and other materials for road construction, offering to expand the knowledge and skills of local specialists in advanced geotechnical stability techniques and safe construction.
Concrete, steel and glass
The interior of the house is filled with colors of white, black and gray with wood accents. Gray cabinets are accompanied by white marble countertops.
The furniture was custom-made in Bogotá using special fabrics and colors (even the bedding, pillows and bed linen were custom-made). Predominant materials are concrete, steel and glass – the house has custom floors of natural stone quarried in Colombia and imported Italian marble and stone. In the interior, attention is drawn to non-standard cabinets, furniture and German fittings. All lighting comes from Europe.
The absolute gem of this house is the multimedia room with a starry ceiling, which transforms the room into a fairy-tale scenery under the stars, fully manifesting the charm of our custom-built houses – sums up the architect.
Photography by Venjhamin Reyes; Production by Karine Monie.
