Prism House + Terrace Home exterior

Prism House + Terrace Home is a Chilean family home designed to reference Kazuo Shinohara’s 1974 Prism House.

The house is located on mountainous terrain in Conguillio, Chile, near the Llaima volcano.

Prism House + Terrace Home site

The site’s sloping terrain runs underneath the home’s terrace, from whence it is possible to see a dead river of lava – a chilling reminder of the Llaima’s last eruption.

Prism House + Terrace Home replicates Shinohara’s Prism House in terms of its geometric structure. The structure includes an isosceles right triangle with interior diagonal timber posts, used to support the house while generating varied internal spaces without interrupting the home’s circulation. Opposite this space is a two-storey right triangle structure that adds to the home’s space and geometry.

Prism House + Terrace Home configuration

According to the architect, this project replicates the structural section of the original, reducing its length from 10.80m to 7.20m. The house is essentially a section of a cube, intended to approximate the ideal expressed in Shinohara’s photographs of Prism House. However, it lacks the ability to be an exact replica is it has been based only on a photographed portion of the original.

In saying this however, the architect has made an effort to replicate many elements of the original, including its informal air and the idea of creating what feels like a large dormitory space.

Prism House + Terrace Home interior

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