El Tume House

A serene wooden house built in a Chilean forest.

Built in Villarrica, in the Araucanía Region in the rural sector of El Tume, Chile, El Tume House blends into a gorgeous landscape. The dwelling rises from a small forest at the edge of a cliff that overlooks the Toltén River. The Abarca Palma Arquitectos firm designed the house with a pitched roof that references traditional Chilean southern houses. In a similar way to another project completed by the studio, the structure features wooden cladding. In this case, the team used non-treated Oregon pine that will develop a beautiful patina over time. The wood will react to the region’s climate, blending the house into the natural landscape further.

El Tume House has two stories. The ground floor houses the common spaces, including the kitchen, dining room, and living room. A terrace overlooks the landscape and the surrounding trees and greenery. Upstairs, there’s a main bedroom as well as two intermediate spaces, located at the edges of the dwelling. To link these areas to the outdoors, the studio installed translucent roofs that soften the light. The main bedroom has access to a large covered terrace filled with plants. Here, the inhabitants can feel like they’re living in a greenhouse that is still connected to nature via a glazed wall. Throughout the house, the architects used wood in various colors for the floors, walls, and furniture. As a result, the interior feels incredibly warm and rustic as well as welcoming and relaxed. Photographs© Andrés Maturana.