The house is located on a large estate on the eastern edge of the village of Puente Avíos, within the municipality of Suances. It sits in a rural setting where quite a few homes have been built in recent years. Despite this transformation, the surroundings maintain their environmental quality and good views.
Under these circumstances, the project intentionally employs a layout and morphology akin to the traditional agricultural buildings common in the area. It adapts to the topography by constructing simple volumes with direct attachments, flat facades, gable roofs, and a white color scheme, trusting that the house will seamlessly blend into the landscape.
The house is situated on the widest part of the irregularly shaped plot. Due to zoning regulations, a distinction is made between the main house and the guest pavilion. The main dwelling is organized in an L-shaped layout open to the southwest, comprising two wings of one and two stories. The two-story volume, which faces the entrance, hosts the day area on the ground floor and the daughters' bedrooms on the upper level. The single-story volume, running parallel to the eastern boundary, contains the master bedroom and several complementary spaces. An outdoor living space open to the south and protected from the northeast winds is created between the two volumes, extending out to the pool. The guest pavilion is built as a freestanding structure in continuity with the lower wing of the main house, parallel to the eastern boundary, helping to define an open entrance area for the property.
Layout and Interior Spaces
Access to the house is located under a porch at the northwest vertex. A linear hallway leads to the connected living-dining room and kitchen, spaces that open up to the south-facing outdoor area. This hallway also leads to the east-facing master bedroom—which features a study area with excellent views and an en-suite bathroom—as well as other service spaces, including a restroom, laundry room, and utility room. A linear staircase in the hallway ascends to the first floor, where three additional bedrooms are located, each with balconies facing south and its own private bathroom. A slight raised floor structure creates an attic space in two of these bedrooms.
The guest pavilion features a simple layout. Entrance is from the west, leading directly into a combined living-dining-kitchen area that faces both east and west. From this space, one accesses an east-facing bedroom equipped with four bunk beds and its own bathroom. This small building also houses a covered two-car parking garage, a storage room, and a utility area.
Form and Materiality
The shape of the house is defined by the arrangement and volume of its two wings, which form the one- and two-story "L" structure. Their gable roofs face different orientations, a design interplay that is clearly visible on the expressive northern facade. The composition of the window openings and the solar protection systems characterize highly differentiated facades: more open to the south and east, and more closed off to the west and north—the latter being remarkably abstract. The lower volume extends into the simple guest pavilion, which resembles a low, shallow house with facades opening to the east and west.
The house is constructed with a steel pillar structure and concrete slabs. The facades are made of whitewashed handcrafted brickwork, with timber/aluminum window frames and shutters. The roof is made of flat ceramic tiles with a meticulously detailed zinc cornice/gutter that sits flush with the brick walls. Two steel, wood, and glass pergolas protect the outdoor living areas and the windows on the most exposed facades. Green areas featuring various species of trees, shrubs, and plants surround the buildings and line the entrance path, including maples, jasmine, and lavender. The swimming pool is located near the southern boundary. The property is enclosed with posts and galvanized mesh, maintaining the continuity of the surrounding meadows. Only at the front is a low wall built using the same bricks, arranged to form a lattice pattern.
Interior spaces are characterized by natural light, a strong connection to the outdoors, and warm materials, such as white Campaspero limestone and oak wood. Flooring in contact with the ground consists of harder materials like stone slabs, while the first floor features oak flooring, except in the bathrooms where the stone is maintained. The vertical walls are plastered and painted white, except in the wet areas of the bathrooms, which are clad in the same limestone.
Sustainability and Energy Efficiency
The installations were designed to achieve the efficiency required for a home planned and built under Passivhaus principles. Particular attention was paid to the insulation of the building envelope, airtightness, and a mechanical ventilation system with heat recovery. These features are complemented by the sustainability criteria inherent in traditional architecture: land integration, solar orientation, compactness, and the strategic placement of window openings.
Team:
Architects: Eduardo Fdez.-Abascal Teira / Floren Muruzábal Sitges
Consultant: DÝNAMIS (Engineering Firm)
Quantity Surveyor / Technical Architect: Cesar Blanco
Developer / Client: Tomás Muruzabal / Paloma Pino
Contractor: Construcciones Sorribero S.L
Photographer: Jose María Cutillas
Materials Used:
Foundation and Structure
Foundations: Reinforced concrete strip and isolated footings.
Columns: Structural steel columns.
Slabs: Horizontal and sloped reinforced concrete slabs.
Staircase: Reinforced concrete staircase providing access to the first floor.
Facades
Facades: Double-leaf facades. Exterior: "Rústico de La Mancha" semi-handmade face brick, finished with a whitewash using Saint Astier lime. Insulation: 60 mm thick extruded polystyrene, Wallmate CW. Interior: Brick lined with plasterboard panels and finished with lime-based paint.
Roofing
Roofing: Insulated roofs featuring an 180 mm thick high-density rigid waterproof rock wool panel with a vapor barrier and bitumen. Finished with "Moneo" model red flat ceramic roof tiles by Hermanos Redondo, installed on battens over a Tyvek waterproof membrane.
Partitions Interior Partitions: Plasterboard partitions of various configurations with rock wool core insulation. Carpentry and Metalwork
Exterior Joinery: magis40 composite aluminum-wood exterior windows and doors by Uni-one, featuring triple glazing; fabricated and installed by Carpintería Luís Ortiz.
Entrance Doors: Oak entrance doors treated with Rubio Monocoat oil, fabricated by Carpintería Luís Ortiz.
Shutters: Exterior sliding shutters made of treated steel and treated larch wood (Mallorcan style) by Griesser.
Interior Joinery: Interior doors, stair treads, latticework, and railings in oak wood treated with Rubio Monocoat oil, fabricated by Carpintería Eguren.
Pérgola: Pergola made of steel profiles enameled with Hempalux by Hempel and treated pine joists finished with Rubio Monocoat oil.
Flooring, Tiling, and Finishes
Garage Flooring: Polished concrete slab.
Ground Floor Flooring: Campaspero stone slabs treated with a water-repellent coating.
First Floor Flooring: Treated oak wood flooring by Surco.
Bathroom Wall Tiling: Finished mostly with treated Campaspero stone.
False Ceilings: Installed under-roof spaces using treated oak wood by Surco.
Other Walls and Ceilings: Finished with lime-based paint.
MEP Installations (Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing)
Plumbing: Standard plumbing installation with ceramic and synthetic sanitary ware by Roca, and brushed nickel faucets by Icónico. Includes a rainwater harvesting system.
Pool Filtration: Swimming pool water purification system.
HVAC (Heating & Cooling): Climate control system featuring a De Dietrich air-to-water heat pump (Alezio S6 MR model) and Uponor Iberia underfloor heating.
Ventilation: Ventilation system with heating and cooling supply by Zehnder.
Electrical & Lighting: Standard electrical installation with various light fixtures from Ansell, Madeinled, Bega, Lamp, Nexia, Poulsen, Lite, & Tradition, Daisalux, etc., predominantly using LED lamps.
Solar PV System: Photovoltaic installation with Sun 156 M panels by Ekesol, plus a battery and inverter by Solaredge.
Special Systems: Telecommunications, anti-intrusion (security), and fire protection installations.
Landscaping and Outdoor Works
Site Works: Plot enclosure featuring a brick wall made of "Rústico de La Mancha" semi-handmade brick, finished with a whitewash of Saint Astier lime. Fencing made of treated pine posts and galvanized mesh, with gates made of steel profiles and sheet metal enameled with Hempalux by Hempel. Paving consists of water-repellent Campaspero stone and exposed aggregate concrete.
Swimming Pool: Pool deck in water-repellent Campaspero stone and interior lining with mosaic tiles by Hisbalit.
Landscaping: Garden landscaping with various plants, assorted trees, hedges, and lawn, supplied and executed by Germán Castellanos.
Furniture
Millwork / Built-ins: Assorted bedroom and bathroom furniture in treated oak wood, fabricated by Carpintería Eguren.
