13 self-constructed homes

The architecture belongs to the place, which conditions it and makes it singular. The urban layout and topography, and its ensuing definition as an observation space, as well as its insertion in the landscape, the lighting conditions and the use of materials are at the root of an idea that has materialized here in a way that continues popular Andalusian traditions—white houses in a white village. At the same time, we have opted for a contemporary language, adapting to the technique and esthetic of the current moment and entering history from the present rather than resorting to a folkloric imitation of our architectural heritage. In such tightly dimensioned homes, we have tried to play with the scale to decompress them. In that sense, the layout is especially important. The entry is a porch enclosed on three sides with the ceiling at the height of the door’s lintel. This leads into the stairway, a generous airspace lit from above by a six-meter skylight that generates an ascending effect of breadth. Precision involves solving problems by minimizing them; precision in the use of adequate materials to avoid future pathologies, foreseeing the effect of nature and the passage of time on building materials; precision in the use of light, whose excess in southern lands can be a defect. Light is the protagonist indoors, thanks to the skylight over the stairs. And precision in scale, carefully determining the size of each part with regard to the whole as well as how they relate to each other, adjusting the compact or fragmented volumes to the urban layout