Nocaima Retreat by Obreval
Nocaima Retreat sits in the rolling hills of Nocaima, Colombia, a compact house by Obreval that revisits rural archetypes with crisp, contemporary rigor. The project channels vernacular cues—bamboo, pitched silhouettes, open corridors—into a precise structural and environmental strategy. Calm in stance and exact in detail, it reframes local building logic while addressing climate and water in one measured move.
Rain slides off twin eaves.
Light gathers beneath the butterfly roof, sharpening the bamboo’s vertical rhythm while the dark steel bases read as quiet anchors in the green terrain.
A compact rural house in Nocaima, Colombia, Nocaima Retreat is designed by Obreval as a precise re-reading of regional construction. The tone stays grounded. Its geometry and structure carry the idea: a rain-harvesting roof and a bamboo-and-steel frame recast familiar elements without losing their cultural weight.
Reform the Roof
The pitched tradition is inverted into a butterfly crown. Shallow, opposing planes collect and channel rainwater, turning a staple silhouette into infrastructure with clear purpose and presence.
Beneath, daylight drops evenly across the plan, and the lifted edges vent heat while framing views outward to the hills.
A known roof becomes a working section, its profile registering climate, drainage, and shade in one legible gesture.
Set the Frame
At each bay, four intersecting bamboo culms lock into a single column. The cluster reads slender and exact, a small homage to modern tectonic clarity without fuss.
Black steel bases pin every bundle, separating bamboo from ground moisture and tightening tolerances for connections, bracing, and lateral stability.
Weight meets lightness here—steel holds the datum while culms rise cleanly to carry roof and corridor.
Work the Corridor
An open corridor runs along the volume as circulation and breathing room. Shade, airflow, and a measured threshold turn movement into a daily ritual through air and shadow.
This linear band mediates between interior rooms and landscape, tempering sun and channeling breezes to cool without machines (simple and effective in this humid terrain).
Feet read the shift underfoot, while the column rhythm sets an easy cadence from door to terrace.
Detail the Joints
Joinery sits at the project’s core. Trim steel plates receive the culms, and bolts grip cleanly so fibers aren’t crushed, preserving strength and finish.
Connections line up with gutter runs and beam seats, keeping the roof’s inversion crisp and the drainage path unobstructed during heavy storms.
Small decisions about cut length, spacing, and reveal give the structure its calm precision.
Hold Memory, Shift Method
Bamboo, a rural staple, stays honest as a primary structure. The reinterpretation is measured, not cosmetic, and the cultural trace remains legible in plan and section.
By pairing craft with a clear structural diagram, the house honors memory while improving durability, water management, and comfort.
A familiar kit of parts is tuned for today without losing its roots.
Evening draws a soft line along the corridor edge. The roof’s trough gleams, and the bamboo columns register as a light grid against the hills. Nothing shouts; the construction speaks in proportion, shadow, and the quiet logic of water moving where it should.
Photography by Par Fotógrafos- Ivan Ortiz Ponce
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