DRAA adds sharply pointed roofline to La Leonera Mountain Retreat
Views of the Andes are framed by the steeply pitched roof of this A-frame house, designed by Santiago studio DRAA for a Chilean ski resort (+ slideshow).
![House at Chiloe Island by DRAA](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/09/House_at_Chiloe_Island_by_dRN_dezeen_468_21.jpg)
La Leonera Mountain Retreat was designed by Del Rio Arquitectos Asociados (DRAA) as a weekend house for a couple who head to the village of Farellones for skiing in the winter and mountain biking in summer.
![House at Chiloe Island by DRAA](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/09/House_at_Chiloe_Island_by_dRN_dezeen_468_141.jpg)
Basing their design on typical pitched roof properties found throughout the mountain region, the architects created a building that combines two distinctly separate geometric volumes – a solid rectangular base supporting a lighter triangular structure with a glazed facade.
![House at Chiloe Island by DRAA](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/09/House_at_Chiloe_Island_by_dRN_dezeen_468_15.jpg)
"The roof itself stands for a quintessential A-frame house, a classic in Chile," architect Nicolas del Rio told Dezeen. "However we made it pointier in search of a starker image and a loftier feeling inside."
![House at Chiloe Island by DRAA](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/09/House_at_Chiloe_Island_by_dRN_dezeen_468_41.jpg)
The A-frame structure is made from pine trusses covered by a sandwich panel of polyurethane with a zinc roof surface. Wooden buttresses interrupt the glazing to create a visual connection with the neighbouring building.
![House at Chiloe Island by DRAA](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/09/House_at_Chiloe_Island_by_dRN_dezeen_468_51.jpg)
The rough finish of the reinforced concrete base helps to ground the building in its earthy hillside site, while the structure above cantilevers out to enhance the sense of lightness.
![House at Chiloe Island by DRAA](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/09/House_at_Chiloe_Island_by_dRN_dezeen_468_81.jpg)
The cantilevered section shelters an entrance at the corner of the building that leads into a porch on the lower level.
![House at Chiloe Island by DRAA](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/09/House_at_Chiloe_Island_by_dRN_dezeen_468_91.jpg)
At the rear of the house, the roof is raised above the ground to create a gap beneath for storing logs.
![House at Chiloe Island by DRAA](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/09/House_at_Chiloe_Island_by_dRN_dezeen_468_111.jpg)
The base level accommodates a bedroom, a kitchenette and a space that can be used as a guest room.
![House at Chiloe Island by DRAA](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/09/House_at_Chiloe_Island_by_dRN_dezeen_468_61.jpg)
A wooden staircase at the rear of the building ascends to a living area dominated by the glazed facade that reaches up to the apex of the ceiling. Here, daybeds face out over the landscape.
![House at Chiloe Island by DRAA](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/09/House_at_Chiloe_Island_by_dRN_dezeen_468_121.jpg)
A doorway that projects out from the sloping roofline connects the living space with an external courtyard at this upper level. A bedroom and bathroom are positioned underneath the eaves at the rear of the property.
![House at Chiloe Island by DRAA](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/09/House_at_Chiloe_Island_by_dRN_dezeen_468_131.jpg)
Nicolas del Rio previously operated a studio called dRN with architect Max Núñez. Their projects included a house on a Chilean island with a weathered-steel roof.
Photography is by Felipe Camus.
Project credits:
Architects: DRAA – Nicolas del Rio Arquitectos
Design team: Nicolas del Rio and Felipe Camus
Contractor: Handitu ltda
Engineering: ARBEC
![House at Chiloe Island by DRAA](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/09/House_at_Chiloe_Island_by_dRN_dezeen_11.gif)
![House at Chiloe Island by DRAA](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/09/House_at_Chiloe_Island_by_dRN_dezeen_01.gif)
![House at Chiloe Island by DRAA](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/09/House_at_Chiloe_Island_by_dRN_dezeen_41.gif)
![House at Chiloe Island by DRAA](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/09/House_at_Chiloe_Island_by_dRN_dezeen_31.gif)
![House at Chiloe Island by DRAA](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/09/House_at_Chiloe_Island_by_dRN_dezeen_21.gif)