Location San Jose de Pinilla, Guanacaste, Costa Rica
Year of Completion In construction
Area 5 000 m²
Built Surface 160 m²
Duration of Building In construction
Team in Charge of the Project Gaia Studio & Patrick Rey
Concept Dir. and Coordinator Hugues Blanchère & Patrick Rey
Project Civil Engineer Yordy Morales
Structural Engineer GCH Ingenieria Estructural
Mecanical Engineer Ingenieria Estructural SOLEC electromecanical
Professional in charge of the construction Ingenieria Estructural Michael Dompieranski, Mauricio Valverde Urena
Used Materials and Technics Roof Green roof, local wood, waste water treatment plant
Architectural Project: Canopy Suspended House
At the top of a steep terrain, the Canopy House stands, nearly invisible from the parking area. Its rooftop terrace, covered in local vegetation shelters cacti, agaves, and other succulent plants. But it’s only when descending the staircase that the architecture reveals itself: a family home suspended in the air.
Metal stilts support the structure, resembling tree branches. The inclined columns reflect the surrounding foilage, while the vegetated roof evokes the forest canopy. Inside, spaces open up to panoramic views of the surrounding nature, creating harmony between human habitation and the wild beauty that surrounds it.
The Canopy House is an aerial refuge, a place where the family can connect with nature while being protected bi its metal and vegetal envelope. Each day, the inhabitants climb the stairs to reach their suspended nest, blending into the landscape like birds among the trees.
This architectural project embodies the balance between humans and nature, an ode to the forest’s beauty and the magic of elevation. The Canopy House is more than just a dwelling: it’s an experience, a link between the ground and the sky, between humans and the earth that supports them.
Hugues Blanchère
Concept Director & Project Coordinator
Tamarindo, Costa Rica
hugues@gaiastudiocr.com
(+506) 8439 4340
We go beyond the aesthetic to design intuitive structures based on the habits and rhythms of the people using them.