Swiss architecture firm RDR chose corrugated metal to cover a sprawling agricultural complex in Patagonia where cows and sheep are reared.

Richter Dahl Rocha & Associés (RDR) designed the Estancia Morro Chico ranch in Argentina's Santa Cruz province near the border of Chile.

The project is located in the wind-swept region of Patagonia, which is shared by both countries and has mostly cold and cloudly climate year-round.
It is common to raise livestock here but a rewilding effort has been promoted to restore and rejuvenate Patagonia's grasslands.
Photograph by Celine Frers
The Lausanne studio built a series of buildings and renovated existing structures the 27,000-hectare ranch, which is home to 11,000 Merino sheep and 1,500 Hereford and Aberdeen Angus cattle. The goal was to allow for the large-scale production of wool, as well as beef and mutton.
Photograph by Javier Agustin Rojas
The new volumes are low-slung, rectangular designs with walls and roofs covered in corrugated iron to form a uniform aesthetic. They include a depot for storing machinery, a guest house and staff accommodation.
RDR chose to arrange the buildings in a cluster, like a village, to help create a well-sheltered environment suited to the climate. A shed for shearing sheep is located further away near the pastures.
Photograph by Javier Agustin Rojas
The buildings are constructed with prefabricated wood and metal, which RDR chose to reference how pioneers to the region in the 19th century built. ...