![San Crescente houses with glue-laminated timber structures](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2021/12/san-crescente-izquierdo-lehmann-arquitectos-francisco-saul_dezeen_hero1-852x479.jpg)
Glue-laminated timber structure forms San Crescente housing block in Santiago
Izquierdo Lehmann Arquitectos and Francisco Saul have completed a block of five row houses in Santiago, which are grouped under a large roof to give the impression of a single residence.
The San Crescente housing ensemble is named after its street in the Las Condes neighbourhood of the Chilean capital.
![](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2021/12/san-crescente-izquierdo-lehmann-arquitectos-francisco-saul_dezeen_2364_col_8-852x356.jpg)
According to the architects, the land was purchased by a group of friends that wanted to develop a housing format different than the typical blocks available in Chile.
The long building is made of glue-laminated timber, a wood technology that makes long and sturdy members by glueing and compressing smaller wood elements.
![Central outdoor area](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2021/12/san-crescente-izquierdo-lehmann-arquitectos-francisco-saul_dezeen_2364_col_7-852x568.jpg)
This material forms the structure of each of the five houses that make up San Crescente, which are separated by concrete demising walls.
The Chilean pine structure forms a continuous pattern across the long facade of the building, lending the impression of a single volume rather than five separate units.
![San Crescente](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2021/12/san-crescente-izquierdo-lehmann-arquitectos-francisco-saul_dezeen_2364_col_1-852x568.jpg)
"The repetition of this module qualifies the facades with a constant rhythm that masks the differences of rooms and ownership within a unitary volume," said the architects.
"Like a large house for five families that opens onto the street as if they were one."
![Concrete walls in Santiago house](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2021/12/san-crescente-izquierdo-lehmann-arquitectos-francisco-saul_dezeen_2364_col_3-852x568.jpg)
Within each unit, the architects did not build any walls on the ground floor. Instead, the communal areas are delineated by shelving, furniture, and millwork.
These form a "diffuse border" between uses, with the added benefit of opening up sight lines from the front of the homes all the way to the garden.
![Bookshelves in San Crescente](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2021/12/san-crescente-izquierdo-lehmann-arquitectos-francisco-saul_dezeen_2364_col_6-852x568.jpg)
"The private courtyards and the street are visually connected across this framing structure," the architects explained.
On the upper level on each residence, a compact layout accommodates two smaller bedrooms facing the street, with a primary bedroom overlooking the garden. The main suite in each of the houses is slightly narrower than the full width of the property.
This arrangement enables the addition of a window to the centrally located bathrooms, and allowed Izquierdo Lehmann Arquitectos and Saul to include skylights in the living rooms below.
"These semi-detached houses, despite their limited perimeter to the outside, receive natural light from all four sides, like an isolated house," the architects explained.
![San Crescente](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2021/12/san-crescente-izquierdo-lehmann-arquitectos-francisco-saul-hero-852x479.jpg)
The same pine wood as the structure was used for many of the building's interior finishes and furniture.
The entire building sits over a shared basement, providing parking and storage that is accessible from directly within the units.
![San Crescente in Santiago](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2021/12/san-crescente-izquierdo-lehmann-arquitectos-francisco-saul_dezeen_2364_col_9-852x568.jpg)
Glue-laminated timber is part of a larger trend in the construction industry towards developing wood products that lend themselves to longer structural spans.
Other projects using similar technology include a dining hall in a west London school that is topped by a soaring wooden structure, and a timber building in Sweden with claims to be "carbon-negative" over its full life-cycle.
The photography is by Cristobal Palma.
Project credits:
Architect: Cristián Izquierdo L.
Collaborator: Francisco Saul
Structural engineering: Luis Soler P y Asociados
Builder: Tecton