Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Culture
  3. Features

A Hillside House Proves that Brutalism Can Be Beautiful

By
1 of 7
ghat house max nunez brutalism architecture 12
Image used with permission by copyright holder
ghat house max nunez brutalism architecture 11
Image used with permission by copyright holder
ghat house max nunez brutalism architecture 10 vertical
Image used with permission by copyright holder
ghat house max nunez brutalism architecture 7
Image used with permission by copyright holder
ghat house max nunez brutalism architecture 6
Image used with permission by copyright holder
ghat house max nunez brutalism architecture 5
Image used with permission by copyright holder
ghat house max nunez brutalism architecture 4
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Ghat House is a whole new take on the cliffside home. We’ve seen abodes built on the edges of cliffs and ones built into the sides of cliffs, but Ghat House almost becomes the cliff itself, following the slope of the land from top to bottom as a series of stepped levels.

Recommended Videos

Located in Cachagua, Chile, Ghat House is an oceanside retreat created by architect Max Núñez. Using the existing topography of the land as inspiration for the footprint of the home, Núñez designed a contemporary brutalist space that is masculine, inviting, and seriously cool (we can easily see Goblin King Jareth from Labyrinth calling this place home).

Thanks to the angled roof, when viewed from the side, the entire home appears to be on a slant. This unique roofline is supported by a series of 15 concrete pillars. Each pillar varies in size and shape, creating an artistic focal point rather than boring support structures.

Much of the beautiful ocean views from the upper floors would have been obscured by having the roofline follow the slope of the land. Núñez’s solution was to create wood-clad forms that cut through the roof, adding visual interest while also providing the upper levels with the spectacular views of the Pacific Ocean. These more private spaces house the bedrooms and bathrooms.

Image used with permission by copyright holder

The wood continues on the interior of the home, bringing warmth to the concrete corralled rooms. The kitchen is all wood with stainless steel countertops; some interior walls and ceilings are also covered in wood.

The only other material used in the home is the glass for the exterior walls. This allows the home to be filled with natural light during the day, ensuring the space feels bright and inviting. When viewed from outside at night, the home appears to glow thanks to carefully placed recessed lighting in the floors. This lighting is also what creates the Labyrinth-esque feel, causing the very M.C. Escher-like stairs to cast shadows onto the ceilings.

Throughout the home, mesmerizing floating concrete staircases pop up, each going to different levels. One set takes you to a quiet sitting area while another opens to the roof, where there is also a staircase leading to a patio. An exterior staircase follows the land down to the lowest level where there is a small veranda, hot tub, and an angular infinity pool that is the perfect spot to watch the sunset.

Looking or more hard-lined architecture? These five brutalist homes are proof that concrete is anything but cold.

Kelsey Machado
Kelsey Machado
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Kelsey is a professional interior designer with over a decade of experience in the design field. With a passion for… Read Full Bio
Culture
The Manual Library: 10 action franchises to pass the cold weekends
Cross

Guys need to read more. Every time I start doomscrolling on TikTok or Instagram, the BookTok world is almost exclusively curated for women. That is why we need to start pushing our love for the bang-bang shoot-’em-ups. The debonair spy. The man on his own, cut off from all help, with only his skills and his wits to help him overcome the obstacles between him and his mission. As men, we love these escapes from the mundane lives and diving into the hero fantasy we all have. When women talk about the mental load they carry every day, men are usually creating our own mental load with safety and security: “What would I do if someone attacked from here? Or there?” Really, what we’re asking is, “What would Jason Bourne do?”

I tend to live in this place in my head when I need to escape from the world, but it is more fun to read about it. As the weather begins to turn and our evenings and weekends are colder and darker, we need something to occupy our time to get us from now until we can escape to the great outdoors in the spring. Here are some action and adventure book recommendations to get your heart going and quench that hero fantasy without doing anything dangerous.

Read more
Culture
5 lessons the military teaches you that you don’t learn in school
Saving Private Ryan

This is not a knock on public school. I went to public school. I liked public school. There is a system of life training built into the social fabric of school where we learn a lot about ourselves and the lives we are about to live. But the truth is we don’t learn a lot about life from the actual curriculum in the classroom. We learn that Paul Revere rode through the streets to alarm everyone that the British were coming. We learned that A squared plus B squared equals C squared. We even learned what an electron is. But there are precious little practical life lessons you can take with you. For me, I picked a lot of those through movies (a lot of parents are shaking their heads right now, but don’t knock it completely; there is a lot you can learn from movie perspectives) and my time in the United States Army.

The military teaches you a ton of practical life skills that will elevate your life when applied to your day-to-day. Here are five of them with a couple bonuses at the end.

Read more
Culture
Coffee is for closers: How Blake from Glengarry Glen Ross’s iconic scene teaches you more than sales
Alec Baldwin

There are moments in movies that stand the test of time. They are the first thing we think of when someone uses a turn of phrase or references something that sends your brain down the rabbit hole of movie quotes. These become cultural stalwarts and embed themselves into the very collective consciousness of our society. Some become known for certain industries. Wanna know what law enforcement is like? Check out Training Day or End of Watch. Wanna know what being a firefighter is like? Press play on Backdraft. How about military life? Full Metal Jacket, Jarhead, or Officer and a Gentleman. Want realism? Don’t watch any of them. But what about sales? There are a dozen movies that can teach you how to sell. Boiler Room. The Wolf of Wall Street. But none of them are as iconic as Glengarry Glen Ross. In fact, one scene in that movie every salesman should watch. Blake’s 8-minute tongue-lashing at the office underachievers.

Alec Baldwin took less than ten minutes to cement himself in the lexicon of sales mentors. Walking into the office, he looks at Ed Harris, Jack Lemmon, and Alan Alda and rips them to shreds when one pours himself some coffee.

Read more