Located in the ‘Els Emperadors’ sector of l’Escala, Girona, Spain, House S2 by bellafilarquitectes was developed to respect the integrity of the site’s pre-existing trees, which form part of a broader extensive pine forest.
Being situated a few meters from a busy access road to the beach, another key premise of the project is to protect the privacy of the occupants both when they are inside and outside the house.
The structure of the one-storey house comprises 2.10 m high concrete walls that distribute the housing program and support a roof of semicircular vaults cantilevered over the south façade.
The roof vaults are finished with green vitrified tiles manufactured in La Bisbal (Girona). The walls extend beyond the interior spaces, resulting in two semicircular courtyards, one contained within the other. The result is two different spaces of different scales that are protected from outside views.
In contrast to the satin surface of the roof tiles, the concrete walls were cast-in-place using wooden boards as formwork, a method that lends a coarse, matted texture to the exterior.
The architects explain: ‘In the use of colour and texture we week to evoke the contrast between the trunks and the tops of pine trees with the purpose of integrating the building in harmony with the landscape.’
