Articles by Pilar Caballero

Nestled in the serene landscape of Sethumadai, Tamil Nadu on a four-acre plot, this architectural project responds directly to its unique context, bordered by the Anamalai range to the south & east and vast peanut fields to the north. The primary objective was to transform a 4-acre site in a sensitive wildlife corridor into a Wildlife Viewing Retreat designed to facilitate the quiet act of creation while honouring the ancient, rhythmic movements of the forest’s inhabitants.

On the banks of the Sanya Haitang River, where tides ebb and flow, the climate is warm, and islands, coconut groves, and dense mangroves unfold in layers. Here, on the wetlands of Haitang Bay, we have woven an organic waterfront village. The Japanese philosopher Tetsurō Watsuji believed that “fudo (wind and earth) is a comprehensive term for climate, geology, soil, sightlines, and landscape.” Thus, we respond to the fudo with a continuous village and an undulating roof. The silver rooftop interpenetrates with the lush greenery, intertwining the calm of metal with the abundance of the tropics. The architecture maintains a humble empathy with nature, while the vast shadows it casts care for and shelter the people and life along the water’s edge.

Ramsden is a home for a young family assembled from fragments of memory. The design was heavily influenced by The Rings of Saturn by W. G. Sebald, a reflective travelogue with no conventional plot, yet densely layered with personal and international histories. The work reveals the complexity and disorder inherent in individual relationships to history, culture, and the past.

The project is a single-family home that presents itself to the street as a pure, compact volume, appearing from the front as a sealed cube that reinforces the privacy and monolithic character of the structure. Part of this volume extends outward to highlight the main entrance, creating a clear, controlled gesture that signals the way in. This extrusion is distinguished materially by white walls, in contrast to the rest of the house, which is constructed entirely of exposed concrete, reinforcing the interplay of solids and voids and the volumetric hierarchy.

From the outset, the design of this Pomona residence was shaped by a shared appreciation between architect and client for the extraordinary landscape that defines the site. The ambition was straightforward but meaningful — to create a home of careful craft and quiet confidence; one that belongs to its setting rather than imposing upon it.