The house, located in one of Santiago de Compostela's historic streets, had undergone a series of renovations in recent decades that considerably diminished its heritage and spatial value.
The developer's initial objective was to enhance the value of the house's architecture and improve its habitability and energy efficiency as much as possible, without altering the built volume of the house or increasing its surface area.
The developer also identified improving the landscaping of the orchard as a priority. As a starting point, it was necessary to replace the pre-existing warehouse, which was in a poor state, with a new attached construction that would help integrate the boundaries, creating a courtyard at the rear of the house.
The most relevant actions have been:
- Increase the spatial quality of the house by reducing subdivisions and prioritizing the opening of spaces and the entry of natural light.
- Recover the original functional distribution of the house, moving the kitchen to the first floor and enhancing the remains of the old fireplace (hidden under several layers of finishes and additions).
- Increasing the free height, eliminating the pre-existing concrete slabs and replacing them with wooden slabs, with a construction system that optimizes the structure.
- With the same objective, and also to improve the healthiness of the living spaces on the first floor, a sanitary floor slab is proposed with a finished level 20 cm lower than the previous level.
- Improving the accessibility of the dwelling. The connection from the access is resolved with a ramp with a slope of less than 10%. The connection to the orchard takes advantage of the existing slope, slightly modifying the topography to avoid steps or ramps.
- Improve energy efficiency by incorporating insulation in the envelope and a new heating, hot water, and ventilation system that guarantees comfort and health with minimum energy consumption.
- To carry out a comprehensive landscape improvement of the orchard, eliminating additions, cleaning the existing vegetation, and solving unevenness with a sequence of terraces and stairs made of wood and reused stone.
