View from the Top

Reggaeton superstar J Balvin’s villa, by architects 5 Sólidos, is a minimalist frame for Medellin’s mountainous vistas

- By Rainbow Nelson. Photographs by Stefan Ruiz

In Residence

When visiting Casa Aire, it’s easy to drift through the house like a breeze, as you’re pulled almost irresistibly, lemming-like, towards an overhanging balcony that puts you front and centre of a lush, verdant view of apparently endless mountains. The striking three-bedroom residence floats graciously in a hypnotic vista that could be anywhere in the Swiss Alps, a zen islet in an infinite sea of green. It takes time to pull your eyeballs back from the brink, to begin to appreciate the structure that holds you aloft, elegantly elevating your experience in this magnificent natural setting.

There’s little in the house that points to the owner J Balvin’s exalted status as a kingmaker and serial collaborator on the global music scene. It’s difficult, for that matter, to even guess which part of the world he hails from. Perched high up in the clouds, an hour outside his hometown of Medellin, Casa Aire is designed to keep guests guessing, while providing a perfectly balanced home for the five natural elements once associated with the Platonic solids – earth, water, fire, air and aether (or heavenly bodies).