Butterfly House sits on a hilltop in the mountains of Bahía Ballena, canton of Osa, surrounded by panoramic views in every direction. The site had already been partially intervened, creating a dominant plateau where a single significant tree had been preserved near the building area. From this landscape four primary experiences were identified — ocean view, forest, the site tree, and the western light at dusk — and these four became the organizing logic of the house.
The plan is a cross. Each arm of the cross reaches toward one of the four landscape experiences, terminating in a framed view that defines its character. Each arm is built from two parallel white walls along its long sides — independent of one another, perforated to create landscape frames — with a continuous transparent inner skin and a solid outer skin that supports and encloses. Between these two skins, an intermediate space buffers the intense sun and rain of the ventanera season, mediating between the interior climate and the exterior conditions.
The two naves share an almost identical formal language, which allows them to intersect without collision — one rises slightly higher than the other at the crossing point. At the crucero sits the kitchen, the place where the house’s inhabitants most naturally converge.
Small as it is, the house produces a spatially complex experience. Walking its perimeter, the relationship between the two naves shifts constantly — from total transparency through both wings simultaneously, revealing multiple programmatic depths at once, to sudden enclosure where the solid outer frames focus a single, precise moment in the landscape. The single-level disposition extends the linear sequence of spaces along the full length of the building, ensuring every room opens to at least two exterior facades — an arrangement that serves both natural cross-ventilation and varied daylighting throughout the day. The horizontal scale allows the house to relate to its natural context while its white lines and straight geometry provide counterpoint and reference within the landscape.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Photographer in Photos 1-4 Louis Lemaire Insidehomepage

Other Photos courtesy of Murillo+Sanabria

Location: Uvita, Puntarenas, Costa Rica
Area: 350m2
Status: Built