Estudio Futuro renovates 1950s Buenos Aires home with terracotta patios and white steel addition

Argentinian architecture practice Estudio Futuro has completed the renovation of PH Gainza, a 1950s concrete house in Buenos Aires. The project reorients the compact dwelling around two stepped, terracotta-paved patios, with an additional storey finished in crisp white steel. The original concrete structure is left exposed, contrasting with new timber and terracotta floors, bespoke carpentry, and white corrugated metal panels on the upper floor. An external staircase in curved white steel and polycarbonate leads to two bedrooms replacing a former laundry room. The expanded first floor provides shade and privacy from a taller neighboring building. Studio founders Victoria Cantoli and Analia D'have emphasized the reuse of existing elements, such as an old laundry sink incorporated into the ground-floor bathroom. Photography by Javier Agustín Rojas.