Casa VIMA, designed by Grizzo Studio, stands as an innovative residential project in Bella Vista, Buenos Aires, where thoughtful architecture creates a harmonious balance between privacy and openness on a corner lot. The house showcases a distinctive approach to modern living through its strategic design elements, including terracotta color schemes and carefully orchestrated level variations that create dynamic spatial experiences.
The architectural firm organized the residence in an L-shaped configuration that serves dual purposes: shielding the interior spaces from street-level disturbances while directing the main living areas toward the private garden. This layout maximizes both privacy and natural light exposure, creating an ideal environment for daily living. The entire structure rests on an elevated plinth that serves as a transitional element, mediating the relationship between the exterior landscape and interior spaces.
One of the most striking features of Casa VIMA is its thoughtful variation in ceiling heights, which creates a carefully orchestrated sequence of atmospheric changes throughout the home. These shifts in volume work together to allow natural light and shadow to animate the rooms dynamically throughout the day. The architects selected deep terracotta tones specifically for their visual depth and refined aesthetic quality, which emphasizes the natural light filtering in from overhead while giving the interior spaces a timeless, sophisticated character.
Grizzo Studio extended the living experience beyond traditional interior boundaries through an innovative system of galleries, terraces, and floating bridges that seamlessly connect Casa VIMA to its surrounding garden spaces. The design demonstrates exceptional sensitivity to the existing landscape by carefully negotiating with mature trees on the property, actually carving voids into the building's form to accommodate and preserve these natural elements. At the main entrance, visitors are greeted by a reflecting pool that mirrors the architectural sunshades while framing a single, prominent tree.
The upper level features a curved bridge that leads around one of the preserved trees toward a panoramic terrace, creating an elevated pathway that offers unique perspectives of both the architecture and landscape. On the ground level, a north-facing terrace houses a functional vegetable garden that connects directly to the kitchen, integrating food production into the daily rhythm of the household. These design elements ensure that the architecture cultivates an ongoing dialogue between built form and natural surroundings.
By designing each terrace and bridge to serve specific functional purposes, Grizzo Studio ensures that the residents' daily routines remain intimately connected to natural rhythms of sunlight, seasonal changes, greenery, and fresh air circulation. Casa VIMA ultimately emerges as much more than a traditional residence – it functions as a carefully choreographed sequence of spatial experiences that encourages its occupants to move fluidly between sheltered interior spaces and open garden areas, redefining the relationship between indoor and outdoor living.
