the lomas i5 beach house // 180° views of the pacific coast

This striking Peruvian beach house breaks all the clichés of palm trees, bamboo and balmy starlit nights in the tropics. Instead it showcases the majesty of a dramatic coastline steeped in the history of ancient civilizations on the moody side of the Pacific. It's all highlighted by the design of the futuristic house that looks like an exploding star.

The design team were Lima based architects Vértice Arquitectos, and besides the task of building a luxurious dream home they were give the challenge of sitting it on a cliff-cum-sand-dune cut into a curved hill. It has about 40 metres of level difference between it's highest and lowest points, and the designers did not just want to use every inch, but create some more.

The brief given to Vértice Arquitectos was also to exploit the view for the master bedroom and social areas. To achieve these tricky goals and go one better (most of the house has 180 degree views) the architects engineered two parallel bases through the middle of the plot to anchor the other criss-crossing floors above. On these central cement plots you will find the spectacular pool and outdoor entertaining area.

The volumes are joined by a main circulation axis and all the rooms at the end of each axis have a special encased view. The whole structure is like an asterisk or exploding star.

It is located on the Peruvian Pacific coast around the area known as Lomas which is a popular getaway spot for Lima's elite. It is known for its fog that creates spontaneous pockets of oasis in the nearby desert and it is strikingly different to the rest of the Pacific with temperamental cold waters, gritty sands but spectacular storms and sunsets.

Among the dirt dune behind the beach, archaeologists still dig up the ruins of grand civilizations such as the Pre-Inca Chimù- their carved walls perfectly preserved in deep pockets of dry shifting sand. We think this luxurious beach house might be worth discovering by future generation in a few thousand years too.

The materials used in the project include exposed concrete, stainless steel and tempered glass.  The pool is surrounded by a double face laminated glass so that you can pause a swim and enjoy the view of the sea below.

The family room is on the second level and is a spatially open area that adjoins the living and dining room in the first level, all with views out to the ocean. The staircase to the second level is made of natural concrete and winds over the kitchen separating this area from the living and dining room.

We can just imagine relaxing in our slippers whilst sipping caipirinha or pisco-sour from one of these protected balconies each sunset. As the night falls it really looks like (and behaves like) an eye out over the ancient scenery. This is a really great example of how architects around the world are finding unique answers and paying attention to the environment and history of their location.

This modern Peruvian beach house is perched on a plot in Lomas del Mar beach near Cerro Azul, about 130 kilometres south of Lima. It is a traditional fishing village and hardcore surfing destination which you may have heard mention in the Beach Boys song Surfin' Safari if you were about in the 1960s. 

Vértice Arquitectos are an architecture studio based in Lima, Peru and this house was designed by their team who included Hernani Canessa, Luis Miguel Becerra,  Sandro Moro Colaboradora and along with a team of structural engineers including Jorge Haaker and Daniel Dongo. They have developed more than 150,000 m² of cutting-edge houses and commercial properties since their inception, and they have also designed a number of other luxury homes around Lomas in the past few years- most on more conventional plots but some with even more breathtaking pools.

Check out more of their projects at verticearquitectos.com or on their behance page. You can take a longer tour of i5 beach house on youtube too. 

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