Dezeen Magazine

Concrete painter's studio by Felipe Assadi nestles into a rocky hillside on the Chilean seafront

This concrete painting studio by Santiago studio Felipe Assadi Architects is half-submerged in the cliffside gardens of a house on the Chilean coastline (+ slideshow).

Workshop for a Painter by Felipe Assadi

Felipe Assadi worked with architects Francisca Pulido and Alejandra Araya on the Workshop for a Painter, which sits beside the owner's concrete home on the Los Vilos coastline near Santiago.

The architects – who also designed the painter's main residence, called Casa Bahia Azul – encased the studio in the same board-marked concrete as its neighbour.

Workshop for a Painter by Felipe Assadi

Planting and an area of decking on the roof of the half-submerged volume make it almost imperceivable from inland, but it projects a glazed patio out of the cliff towards the South Pacific Ocean.

Workshop for a Painter by Felipe Assadi

Assadi described it as "a small enclosure that, because of its accession, appears as an extension of the ground."

Workshop for a Painter by Felipe Assadi

A set of metal stairs descends into the earth between two flowerbeds and emerges at a small patio by the entrance to the studio.

"The space mediates between the sea and a small interior garden access, preceded by a narrow staircase carved into the rock," said the architect. "It is a little retreat from the rest of the buildings."

Workshop for a Painter by Felipe Assadi

The glazed entrance hems in one side of the sunken patio, creating a well that is designed to provide indirect lighting for painting.

Workshop for a Painter by Felipe Assadi

Spindly trees and leafy plants help to further soften the light and blend the concrete and glass structure with its natural surroundings.


Related content: more Chilean architecture


At the opposite end of the studio, a sliding glass wall is set in from the end of the concrete structure to shelter a small balcony by the edge of the cliff.

Workshop for a Painter by Felipe Assadi

A pale timber unit containing cabinets, a stove and a sink runs along one side of the workspace. The planks of timber used to create the cabinetry resonate with the board-marked concrete walls, which have been left exposed across the interior.

The boxy form contrasts the diagonal lines of the main house, which lies at a slant along the shoreline and features a series of skewed windows that accentuate its off-kilter angle.

Workshop for a Painter by Felipe Assadi

Felipe Assadi and Francisca Pulido previously collaborated on a timber holiday home that is perched on a hillside over a remote valley in Chile.

Further up the coastline, a holiday home by Victor Gubbins also features board-marked concrete walls, but sits proud of the clifftop on a concrete podium.

Photography is by Fernando Alda.

Workshop for a Painter by Felipe Assadi
Floor plan – click for larger image
Workshop for a Painter by Felipe Assadi
Roof plan – click for larger image
Workshop for a Painter by Felipe Assadi
Long section – click for larger image
Workshop for a Painter by Felipe Assadi
Cross section – click for larger image