A Continuous Flow by Minimizing the Boundaries
Located in Barranco, Lima, this 198m² project was designed as a photographer’s workshop and studio. Designed for creative work, it can also function as an exhibition venue, shifting between a private studio, an open workshop, and a gallery.
Visitors enter through a front courtyard lined with cantilevered planters before arriving at the main workspace through a wooden sliding door. As the spatial heart of the project, the workspace opens further through large sliding doors concealed within the walls, connecting the front courtyard, studio, and rear courtyard into a continuous sequence. By minimizing the boundary between interior and exterior, the design creates an open working environment while also functioning as an exhibition route.
A kitchenette and two flexible rooms are arranged around the main workspace. These spaces can serve as studios or temporary accommodation for visiting artists. Only the bathrooms and darkroom remain fully enclosed, meeting functional requirements while ensuring privacy. A staircase leads to an upper gallery and a private study with an en-suite bathroom, where the vegetation in the cantilevered planters can be viewed at eye level. The structural strategy is clearly expressed. Reinforced concrete block walls form a solid perimeter, while 6.7-meter timber trusses support the folded roof while reinforcing the walls, tying the building into a unified structural system.
The roof gradually slopes downward toward the rear courtyard, creating a dynamic section. Four skylights bring daylight deep into the interior, while pulley-operated windows promote natural ventilation. These elements reinterpret the skylights and clerestory windows traditionally found in Barranco’s historic houses. Durable tropical hardwood is used throughout the project, from the structure and joinery to partitions, gates, furniture, and stairs, creating a cohesive material palette. Interior walls are finished smoothly, while the courtyard walls retain a textured surface designed to accommodate lighting effects and climbing plants. Handmade yellow terrazzo tiles extend from the interior to the rear courtyard, adding warmth and continuity. A ceibo tree, cacti, and succulents complete the courtyard landscape, reinforcing the dialogue between architecture and nature.
Project: Studio-Workshop for Photographers / Location: Barranco, Lima. Perú / Architect: Roman Bauer Arquitectos (Jose Bauer, Augusto Román) / Project team: Alexandra Larrea, Ailed Tejada, Lilian Wong, Karen Galarza / Structural engineering and consulting: Jorge Avendaño, Luis Takahashi / MEP engineering: Julio Gamboa / Electrical engineering: Cesar Pacheco / General Construction: Caguila Constructores / Use: workshop studio / Gross floor area: 189m² / Completion: 2025 / Photograph: ©Juan Solano Ojasi (courtesy of the architect)
