Apartment Building of Isabel and Olga Pérez Farfante

Apartment Building of Isabel and Olga Pérez Farfante

Frank Martínez, Architect

Nuevo Vedado, Havana

1955

Frank Martínez’ house of Isabel and Olga Pérez Farfante in Nuevo Vedado is really a duplex unit of two modern houses separated by a covered patio.  Martínez employed various traditional elements of Cuban construction such as adjustable full-height wooden louvers, and balconies that resemble front porches. The house has an asymmetrical massing, is elevated plan on fluted pilotis, and is covered by a projecting flat roof. The use of strip windows, concrete block walls, and exposed concrete slab floors on the exterior also makes reference to Le Corbusier’s Dom-ino system.