A Leaf on the Hillside House Barichara, Colombia residential property images, Home design photos

A Leaf on the Hillside House, Barichara, Colombia

6 March 2025

Architect: Alsar Atelier

Location: Barichara, Santander Department, Colombia

Photos: Simon Bosch Photography

A Leaf on the Hillside House, Colombia

A Leaf on the Hillside House
“The houses of the city, with their clay tile roofs… seemed suspended in time, resisting the invasion of modernity.”
— García Márquez, G. (1985). Love in the Time of Cholera. Editorial Sudamericana.

That quote from Gabriel García Márquez, beyond describing the architectural aesthetics of the 19th and early 20th centuries, remains a relevant depiction of various rural and urban contexts in present-day Colombia. Without a doubt, Barichara and its surrounding areas are among those contexts, representing a construction and architectural industry that will remain indefinitely “suspended in time.” The Colombo-colonial architectural style has an inherent beauty, yet it is often restrictive as a method of contemporary spatial experimentation, especially in extreme topographies.

The project site, located on the northern side of the Barichara–Villanueva road and featuring a significant slope, presented the following challenge: How can a contemporary composition be created that is capable of conveying a timeless aesthetic while integrating an extreme topography?

The answer was to extract the most iconic compositional element of the Colombo-colonial aesthetic—the sloped clay tile roof—and reinterpret it as an autumn leaf falling from a tree, delicately adapting to the topography where it lands. With the roof as the primary compositional element, it became clear that the final composition would achieve the same “suspension in time” as the local aesthetic referenced by Gabriel García Márquez.

This contemporary composition, which successfully communicates timelessness, is achieved by proposing a double-sloped roof, leading to a diagonal arrangement of clay tiles to facilitate water runoff. These tiles are recycled to emphasize the inherent timelessness of Colombo-colonial architecture. Additionally, by utilizing local technology, industry, and artisans, the construction reduces rural housing emissions by 60% by minimizing material transportation.

For the interior layout, the robust, stone-like white walls—analyzed as the secondary element of the Colombo-colonial aesthetic—serve as structural cores supporting the roof and organizing spaces through a play of solids and voids. This allows for a fluid connection between the interior and exterior, evident in the corridor with its vertical elements of recycled wood and the living room with its double opening to the surroundings.

These structural cores rest upon a stone base—another iconic element of Colombo-colonial architecture—which adapts the structure to the terrain’s slope and enables spatial distribution following Adolf Loos’ raumplan logic, organizing spaces through level changes rather than walls. This generates an open yet differentiated relationship between the kitchen, living room, and terrace.

La Hoja Sobre el Cerro (The Leaf on the Hill) not only responds to the aesthetic legacy of Colombo-colonial architecture but also reinterprets its elements with a contemporary and sustainable approach. The fusion of traditional techniques with innovative design strategies allows the house to harmoniously integrate into the landscape, respecting both its historical and natural context. Thus, more than just a building, the proposal becomes a manifesto of how architecture can evolve without losing its identity, maintaining a delicate balance between past and present.