Project Name: PYR House

Location: Panguipulli, Chile

Design Team: Cazú Zegers

Project Area: 2,024 m²

Completion Year: 2024

Photography: Marcos Zegers

Feature：

Project - Perched dramatically on the edge of a precipitous landscape in Panguipulli, Chile, the PYR House emerges as a architectural marvel that seamlessly negotiates challenging terrain through innovative design and poetic imagination. Conceived by renowned architect Cazú Zegers, this extraordinary residence transforms topographical constraints into its most compelling design feature, creating a sculptural intervention that dialogues intimately with its rugged natural context.

The house's conceptual genesis lies in pyrite—the "stone of home"—which becomes both metaphorical inspiration and structural metaphor. A central geometric staircase, engineered with the cubic crystalline structure of pyrite, vertically connects the property's disparate elevations, from cliff top to lakeside, becoming the architectural spine that articulates the project's spatial complexity.

Zegers masterfully addresses the site's challenging solar orientation and forty-foot cliff through a sophisticated three-story volume that appears to emerge organically from the rocky terrain. The lightweight architectural volumes, constructed using a nuanced material palette of metal, wood, and selective concrete, create a dynamic interplay between built form and landscape.

Structural ingenuity meets poetic expression in this project, where each floor responds uniquely to its specific land condition. The result is a residential design that transcends conventional architectural boundaries, transforming geographical challenges into opportunities for spatial innovation and sensory experience.

The PYR House stands as a testament to Zegers' architectural philosophy—a bold reimagining of how built environments can not just occupy, but truly inhabit challenging landscapes.

Design Team - Founded in 1990, Cazú Zegers Architecture Studio has emerged as a transformative force in contemporary architectural practice, distinguished by its profound commitment to creating architecture that intimately dialogues with landscape and cultural context. Led by Cazú Zegers, an architect trained at the Pontifical Catholic University of Valparaíso (PUCV), the studio has developed a unique architectural language that seamlessly integrates built form with the Chilean and Latin American territories.

The studio's design philosophy transcends conventional architectural approaches, focusing on a "Low Tech" methodology that prioritizes minimal territorial intervention and a deep respect for natural environments. Zegers' work is characterized by its geopoetic approach, exploring architectural solutions that emerge from a nuanced understanding of place, local materials—particularly wood—and indigenous cultural wisdom.

Internationally recognized, Zegers has received prestigious accolades including the Grand Prix of Versailles and the National Geographic Unique Lodge of the World Award. Her practice has been featured in ELLE Decor's Architecture A-List and recognized by Forbes Magazine as a boundary-breaking architectural firm.

Currently led by Zegers, the studio continues to push architectural boundaries, emphasizing sustainable design, ethnoarchitecture, and a holistic approach to territorial intervention that respects ecological and cultural ecosystems.