The house sits nestled on the border between an urban area and the foothills of Montseny, a rocky massif in Catalonia’s pre-coastal range, between Barcelona and Girona.
To the owners, this project represented an opportunity to gradually leave the city and permanently settle in this location at some point in the near future. To them, the exterior space was as or more important than the interior, hence the reason they chose this plot, which provides isolation and the possibility to create a green space in connection with the mountains.
Both the plot and home were arranged in a manner that reinforced this concept. The T-shaped layout of the house helped form a cushion between the urban area and the rest of the plot, offering privacy to the resulting exterior spaces onto which much of the façade opens.
The exterior spaces were organised in accordance with the direction of the sun and exposure to the wind. The winter terrace to the south is shielded from the northerly and easterly winds, while the summer terrace to the west of the building receives shade from the pre-existing trees. To the east, the strip of land between the home and adjacent house was used to create an exterior parking area.
This layout helped simplify the interior and the way of getting from one space to another. The stairs and bathrooms, strategically placed in the centre of the T-shaped layout, serve as a hinge and free up the remaining space in the wings for the main living areas. The wing forming the top of the T, to the east, is home to the bedrooms and kitchen. These rooms were designed as more defined, private spaces, with a controlled relationship with the exterior. Together, they form a barrier/cushion between the neighbouring plots and the interior communal areas, located in the wing that extends lengthwise. These spaces are more flexible, lack such defined uses and communicate directly with the outside through large glass openings.
To construct the building, we combined both traditional wet and contemporary dry construction systems. Given its location near a stream, in an area prone to flooding, the concrete and solid brick masonry allowed us to protect the building’s foundations from potential floods. For the rest of the structure, we used insulated timber framework and EIFS rendering for the façades and CLT panels for the floors and sloping roof, covered with ceramic roof tiles. These systems help eliminate thermal bridging and insulate the building for optimum energy efficiency, which is enhanced by the cross-ventilation and the solar protection of the pergolas and blinds.
This blend of construction systems is also mirrored in the interior materials. The wood ceilings remain uncovered, while the floor has wall-to-wall ceramic tiles. The stairway, visible from all wings of the house, has a folded metal frame with steel rods.
The colour scheme remains neutral both inside and outside the home, taking as a base the tones of the white-glazed pine and ecru masonry.
The floor plan helps optimise the use of the spaces, affording them privacy and isolating them from the rest of the town. The homeowners are thus able to turn their eyes and experiences towards the mountains, making the rural environment the true protagonist.
