augusta pasteur + santiago roose transform an abandoned house
“The Domestic Ecosystem” by Augusta Pastor and Santiago Roose transforms an abandoned residence in Lima, Peru, to merge a unified spiritual experience carried by raw matter and delicate ecosystems. Viewing materiality as an extension of space rather than an afterthought, the designer duo draw inspiration from existing material and nature to expose, revive and enhance the weathered elements of the original structure. The house boldly embraces the natural textures and expressions of Peruvian adobe and concrete, weaving both symbolic and physical ecosystems and micro-habitats across space. The concept offers residents a soothing bodily experience that activates the senses, invoking touch and memory – especially through tranquility garden home to various plant species and oases.
the surrounding brick wall was covered with adobe (Peruvian soil) | all pictures by Ivan Salinero
embracing the raw materiality of adobe, brick and concrete in peru
With the “domestic ecosystem”, architect Augusta Pasteur and artist Santiago Roose’s concept seeks to merge spaces symbolically and physically to create a unified ecosystem experience. The duo remodeled and improved the kitchen, dining room, workshop and garden of the Peruvian house, originally designed in 1977 by architect Miguel Cruchaga. After being abandoned for more than a decade, much of the structure’s original finishes reveal scars of time and disuse, which the architect draws inspiration from with the design of the project. “We wanted to intervene with as little as possible. As if we could reach this space and only inhabit it with the most essential,’ she comments.
Symbolically embodying a “career feel” to activate the senses, the kitchen and dining room walls have returned to their original exposed concrete forms. The kitchen tiles were also stripped down to preserve and reveal the home’s original structural bones, while the countertops were finished with steel, their sterile aesthetic juxtaposing the fragility of the encompassing sculpted concrete surfaces.
the garden immerses visitors in a selection of small oases and plant species including the sculptural Becarneas
Along the garden, Pastor and Roose lined the exposed brick wall with adobe (Peruvian mud), the raw earth imparting a patina that engages the visitor’s senses and enriches their experience of the architecture and surrounding nature. “We believe that through materials, the senses are awakened. Our touch meets the desire to smell, and our sense of smell is invited to participate in our experience of the space we inhabit. This is why we have designed an interactive space. A space where materials activate emotions and memories,’ shares Augusta Pastor.
reviving a “career feel”, the walls have been restored to their original exposed concrete
symbolic and physical ecosystems flourishing in autonomy
Lima’s location as a megacity located between the valleys of three small rivers that cross the desert from the Andes to the sea means that water consumption is of the utmost importance here. The designers create an intimate back garden comprised of various micro-landscapes that open up the ground, sprouting from barren concrete that has sunk into stone. A fragile but indomitable atmosphere invades visitors as soon as they enter the open space, immersing them in a selection of small oases and plant species, including the sculptural Beucarnée (horsetails). Plants, a selection of spices used for cooking and medicine, form the ground cover for garden eruptions that cohabit oases with low plants. According to the architect, these seemingly fragile but functionally self-sufficient micro-landscapes exude vitality and interrupt sterile human design, seeing the users of the space as mere observers.
steel countertops juxtapose the encompassing textured concrete
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