Architects transform rundown rental into a solar-powered home

The project carefully balances conservation and restoration with expansion and improvement

Spotted: Moarqs, an Argentinian design studio dedicated to improving quality of life, has turned a neglected building from the 1920s into a light-filled home. The project carefully balances conservation and restoration with expansion and improvement. Poorly maintained rooms at the back of the building were torn down to make room for a swimming pool and garden, but wherever possible, original features were preserved throughout the interior, including much of the wooden flooring, and finishing details such as iron and plasterwork.

In keeping with the sympathetic restoration, newly built additional rooms on the first floor are set back so as to not change the visual line of the original building, when viewed from the outside. Located in the Barracas neighbourhood of Buenos Aires, the home also includes a series of shutters that help manage energy consumption throughout each season. Solar panels generate heat and electricity, and thermal panels warm the home’s potable water.

Other methods spotted by Springwise for keeping architectural environmental footprints as light as possible include cabins that use filtered seawater and sauna heat, and pre-fabricated buildings on stilts designed for ease of movement.

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