A house is often a testing ground for an architect’s more esoteric ideas. In a private residential project, provided it comes with a daring client, a practitioner can translate their philosophy to form and hone their praxis. For Hevia Poblete, the Chilean firm run by Guillermo Hevia and Catalina Poblete, the central parti is the “single section repeated.” In past projects, they’ve been able to stretch the limits of this minimal industrial language — literally: A recent commission, Casa Curva, snakes across its sea-facing terrain to capture views for every interior along its length.

But that wasn’t the case when it came to the Centipede House, which, despite its name, is comparatively compact. That’s because it’s in the city of...