2018
Matarraña, Spain
ZEST Architecture
300 m2
This modern house is designed as a cozy but contemporary home for a couple wanting a retreat that celebrates the site´s breathtaking views and remoteness. We designed a house that is almost like a pavilion, where the regulatory sloping roof becomes a stunning sculptural element.
The low roof, large overhangs and the linearity of the spatial distribution in plan all contribute to the overall horizontality of the house which serves to integrate the house with the landscape and celebrate the olive trees. The house will be fully self sufficient with solar panels, a geothermal installation for floor heating and cooling and a thick central wall of rammed earth contributing to thermal mass.
Name: House Teruel
Location: Teruel, Aragon, Spain
Client: Private
Budget: Undisclosed
Surface area: 300 m²
Project design: Ongoing
Architects: Co Govers, Maria Matamala, Anna Vidal Garcia, Bianca Schaub, Zheng Xu
Structural engineer: Albert Admetlla
Graphic documentation: ZEST Architecture
This house is the realisation of the dream of two people who met late in life to spend the rest of their lives together in an amazing setting and an amazing house, with a modern but warm aesthetic. The location is the Matarraña, an area of great natural beauty in Aragon, where the clients found a rare plot with beautiful views and the permission to build a house of a maximum of 300 square meters, within strict regulations.
We designed a house that is almost like a pavilion, where the regulatory sloping roof becomes a stunning sculptural element. Inspired by Japanese Engawas, a kind of verandah like space under the roof, we designed a sloping roof with a steel cornice that hides a large gutter, creating a sharp edge and thereby lending the house to a more modern appearance.
Living and bedrooms are distributed over two separate wings, separated by a double height volume that acts as a hinge and houses entrance, storage and study. The low roof, large overhangs and the linearity of the spatial distribution in plan all contribute to the overall horizontality of the house which serves to integrate the house with the landscape and celebrate the olive trees.
The house will be fully self sufficient with solar panels on a separate garage building, a geothermal installation for floor heating and cooling and a salt water pool. A thick central wall of rammed earth runs through the building providing thermal mass and creating more comfortable living conditions year-round. The wall will be constructed from ground remnants of demolished material from excavation of the house and pool. To be completed early 2020.