The richness and diversity of the forest around River house is obviously a result of its damp soils and ever-changing water table. To be able to inhabit this very alive environment, careful analysis of the river’s behavior was put in practice to understand the elevation and the type of material required to raise the lot as well as the ideal species for landscaping.

Another important aspect of the floorplan was to break down the house into smaller separate footprints and orient them in a way that the water can, in case of a flood, move across the property without obstacles and thus keep the built structures intact.

The very idea of incorporating the river’s overflow as a landscape design resource and a conditioning factor of the design led to position the main module of the house along the riverfront, and to use the mass of the pool as a contention structure, around them, gentle sloped gardens drain the rainwater towards the river, layered by their proximity to the water which determined the species to be planted.

Location: Hacienda Iguana, Tola, Nicaragua