Casa Kike, a private house in Cahuita, Costa Rica by Gianni Botsford Architects

The simple form of the two pavilions of Casa Kike belies the complexity of their geometry. Each pavilion might be described as just two walls, a floor and a roof but is, more technically, a trussed timber shell in the form of an eccentrically-truncated, irregular, four-sided cone.

By coupling indigenous techniques and materials with modern design technologies and aesthetics GBA has created this intimate double pavilion for a writer in Costa Rica.

A main studio space, with library, writing desk and grand piano, is the writer’s daytime space. The pavilion’s wooden structure, sourced from local timber, sits on a simple foundation of wooden stilts on small concrete pad foundations. Roof beams of up to 10 m long and 355 mm deep allow for an interior with no vertical columns. The mono-pitched roof elevates towards the sea shore, while the interior is through ventilated via a completely louvred glazed end façade.

Set at a short distance along a raised walkway, a second smaller pavilion mirrors the first. This contains sleeping quarters and a bathroom. Externally, the pavilions are clad in corrugated steel sheeting, another locally used construction material. The overall effect is that of a building which blends with its surroundings, both visually and environmentally.

Project Credits

Client: Keith Botsford
Architect: Gianni Botsford Architects
Contractor: Lechenne Construction
Structural Engineers: Tall Engineers
Location: Costa Rica
Cost: £55,000