One of Argentina’s First Passive Houses Stands Tall Above Rising Tides

Set on eight-foot stilts, this highly insulated island home provides a Buenos Aires couple with an off-grid escape.

Erica and Eduardo Heidenreich’s remote delta retreat can be reached only via a magical one-hour boat ride from Buenos Aires through the narrow, winding tributaries and canals of the Paraná River. As our vessel skips across the water and brilliant green flora envelops us on either side, the city’s high-rises become a hazy memory etched upon the horizon.

Sitting eight feet off the ground, Erica and Eduardo Heidenreich’s island retreat in the Paraná River delta, north of Buenos Aires, is built to withstand the remote wetland’s periodic flooding.

Photo by Leonardo Finotti

Designed by Uruguayan architecture firm Mapa, the house is supported by 30 pilotis.

Photo by Leonardo Finotti

Erica is the owner and founder of the interior design studio Solsken, and Eduardo is a civil engineer and the vice president of Data IQ. Their two grown children live away from home, so the couple wanted a place where they could all spend weekends together as a family.

A covered deck runs the length of the structure, its deep overhang helping to regulate solar gain. The home, certified a Passive House by the Passive House Institute, is highly insulated and airtight. "Once the windows and doors were installed, the workers preferred to sleep inside the empty house instead of in their converted shipping containers," says Eduardo.

Photo by Leonardo Finotti

See the full story on Dwell.com: One of Argentina’s First Passive Houses Stands Tall Above Rising Tides
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