From certain angles, the homes are almost entirely hidden behind hills, their curved roofs mimicking the grassy shapes around them. BAUEN used the earth that was displaced in constructing the homes to build artificial hills  that embrace the modern structures, stabilizing the temperature inside with the thermal inertia of underground spaces. This technique reduces the need for energy-intensive air conditioning.

Both homes feature lots of glass both on the upper levels, and on the wall facing the yard, to fill the interiors with light in spite of the subterranean design. Differing slightly from one home to the other, the aesthetics call to mind both ultramodern architecture and architectural typologies of the distant past.

“The ‘Culata Jovai’ or ‘House of Confronted Rooms’ is a real bioclimatic solution belonging to one of our traditional ways of living in harmony with the environment in Paraguay, and constitutes our base typology for a new reinterpretation according to new functional programs, needs of symbolic representation and new technologies, framed in a sustainable project,” say the architects.

The rectangular home gets a sense of movement and enhanced visual interest from the dramatic staircase as well as a privacy screen on the upper story that is inspired by the shapes of the eucalyptus tree branches around it.

The lowest floor is built partially into the hillside, with a rock wall that gives it a cave-like atmosphere. This floor houses a recreation room leading out to the swimming pool and garden. The bedrooms are tucked away in the middle floor, while the upper story is reserved for common spaces to take full advantage of the views.

While the plentiful glass and open-air terraces focus the view beyond neighboring houses to the nearby Bronte beach, the rooms inside are arranged for maximum privacy.