Integrating Nature as a Building Material: Exploring the Works of Estudio Planta
Combining experience, knowledge, tradition, innovation, and experimentation, Estudio Planta, based in Buenos Aires, Argentina, focuses on fostering the relationship between architecture and nature by using vegetation as a building material and integrating outdoor spaces into daily life. Addressing the unique characteristics of each site, programmatic innovation, sustainability, care for noble materials, and construction details, the practice defines its identity by proposing ways of living in harmony with its inhabitants and understanding the legacy that architecture can leave for society.
Led by architects Irene Joselevich and Ana Rascovsky, Estudio Planta works on everything from residential design, interior projects, and commercial spaces to extensions, public space interventions, and landscaping, as well as participation in various exhibitions and competitions. Both graduates of the Faculty of Architecture, Design and Urbanism at the University of Buenos Aires (FADU-UBA), they have been active in the academic field through teaching and research and have received numerous awards in recognition of their work.
Committed to the community, Estudio Planta approaches architecture with a focus on people, viewing design as an added value or a constructed thought that begins with a unique concept for each project. Central patios, terraces, balconies, and vegetation porches play a prominent role in most of their works, creating different connections between public and private spaces, interiors, and exteriors. The relationship with the outdoors and vegetation is evident beyond scales, the users involved, or programmatic resolutions, often aiming to assimilate with nature and blend into the environment.
From the CasaGrande Building, which features a central courtyard with labyrinthine walkways among the treetops, to the Commodore Apartment Building, with its diverse outdoor spaces promoting a lifestyle connected to the outdoors and nature within the city, their architecture integrates typologies that incorporate native vegetation, maximize sunlight exposure, open up views, and more. The design of outdoor spaces involves creating microclimates that shield inhabitants from strong winds, help regulate temperatures in front of large glazed surfaces, provide natural light and cross ventilation to interiors, and create spaces for social interaction, among other benefits.
Below, discover some of their works built in recent years that, through various spatial configurations and construction details, enhance the dialogue with nature.
CasaGrande Building
Vilela II
Commodore Apartment Building
This article is part of an ArchDaily series titled Get to Know the Works of, where we look at the built portfolio of a studio, explore their creative process, and highlight their approach. As always, at ArchDaily, we greatly appreciate the contributions of our readers. If you think we should highlight a particular architectural firm, send us your suggestions.
This article is part of the ArchDaily Topics: Women in Architecture presented by Sky-Frame.
Sky-Frame is characterized by its empathic ability to take on different perspectives and points of view. We are interested in people and their visions, whether in architecture or in a social context. We deeply care about creating living spaces and in doing so we also question the role of women in architecture. From the arts to the sciences, women shape our society. We want to shed more light on this role, increase the visibility of Women in Architecture and empower/encourage them to realize their full potential.
Initiated by Sky-Frame, the “Women in Architecture” documentary is an impulse for inspiration, discussion, and reflection. The film’s release is on November 12, 2024.
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