It is hard to imagine anybody making a more important investment than this during his or her lifetime.In fact,the house becomes a tangible symbol of the family ’s socio-economic status;it is also an indication of taste and defines the temperament and personality of the owner.

When the architect meets with the owners,a very special process begins:the owners must be completely open and share their ideas,their fantasies,ambitions and way of life.The architect is like a tailor:he has to produce a tailor made house,but not just to achieve optimum functionality, appropriate planning for the use of space,the
budget and efficiency factors for energy use and to reduce maintenance costs;he also has to satisfy the intangible aspects that you notice when you open the front door and your heart beats faster, those things that make you feel proud of yourself.

This house in Lima,designed by the Panamanian architect Humberto Echeverría Correa,fulfilled its mission from the moment that its design was committed to paper.Its owners,a young couple under 40 years old,wanted a house that would reflect their enthusiasm for all things modern;as they were young and successful they found in such contemporary expression the perfect reflection of their souls.

“This is no ordinary house,says Echeverría,“nor were they an ordinary couple;so the proposition had to be different from what you might normally see,not just in Panama but also in Peru.I come from tropical humidity;our work in Panama is very closely related to our climate,its idiosyncrasies,the green,rain soaked environment which hems us in and imposes certain conditions on architecture;but in Peru it never rains and nothing grows spontaneously in the desert soil of Lima, you have to cultivate everything and care for it with dedication and energy.”

The house has a tropical flavor,which also has a different expression – the gardens come into the house,the tempered glass walls do not present any obstacle whatsoever to interaction with the exterior.The light (what little light there is in Lima)enters from all directions,casting shadows and injecting the spaces with life;the doors open wide as allowed by the climate to meet the demands of the owners ’ constant social activities;this flexibility is what makes tropical the house.“In Lima,houses tend to be closed,with thick walls;the function of the house seems to be to protect the occupants from the wild exterior,as if the exterior were something to be feared,or rather that they have a great respect for it.”

The staircase is impressive both from the outside of the house as well as the inside;nevertheless it brings a note of simplicity and honesty.The plain steel structure,orthogonal,which stands without any complication,logically supporting its load on the ground with such simplicity that even the newcomer to
structures can understand.The main construction materials are plain concrete, masterfully worked by the hands of Peruvian laborers,and toughened glass.

“Plain concrete is not normally used in Panama,nobody knows how to use it properly nor is it understood by ordinary people.For me it is a very noble, honest material … the ideal approach that produces the best imaginable result,, is to use it both as a construction material and for finishes at the same time; it also provides a touch of warmth to the space (that we consider to be highly appropriate),more so than the active,lead role played by the steel structure, which in most cases gives a feeling of cold.”

One of the most special places in the house is the wine cellar,dug out of the bare earth.It is reached by a spiral staircase of stainless steel which is only visible when the 1.5m diameter toughened glass floor is raised using a hydraulic system installed in the central core of the spiral staircase.“This was one of the owners ’ fantasies that was most successfully realized.He is a wine lover,so we agreed that we would build a spectacular wine cellar.The idea was to make this a dramatic contrast to the other spaces in the house;I wanted to create a space that was right for wine,a vault of rough bricks, walls and floors of aged bricks and wood,lighting using torches
and candelabra;but the most important element was the Inca touch which had to be included – I wanted one of the four walls to be decorated with stones from Cuzco,worked by Cuzcoan artisans using ancient techniques and incorporating the trapezoid spaces typical of Inca architecture.I wanted to give the impression that these Inca ruins,which had already been subject to domination and subjugation by the Spanish,appeared during the excavation of the foundations and having found them,we had decided to preserve them and incorporate them into the heart of the home,but this time as a mark of respect and admiration by both cultures.”

Sadly this house is in Lima,three and a half hours flight away; for this reason we wanted to share it with our readers as fully as possible,and to highlight the work of our Panamanian architects, who little by little are showing that they are capable of exporting architecture.

“It was all team work.The owners themselves played an important leading role in the process,but I also want to stress the contribution of the Peruvian architect Godofredo Méndez,who guaranteed the execution of the project and with whom we worked out all the details;the architect José Báez from our firm also deserves special mention.”

This project appears to address two very human ambitions:sumptuousness and modesty,which are
seldom seen together … this is Good Living..