Casa P is the remodeling project of a 4,000 sq ft. single family residence located in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico. The project involved the design of the living and dining room areas and its facades as well as the outdoor terrace and pool, to be built in the coming months, and its interior architecture. Within a restrained budget of approximately 70 dollars per square foot of construction, minimum interventions were allowed throughout the rest of the façades where openings were reconfigured and horizontal screens were introduced. The plan of the residence was left intact, only elevation and sectional interventions were allowed.
In order to provide privacy to the residence on the south facade and not lose contact with nature, the front of the residence is separated from the interior by an in between space or interior patio. This spatial extension and buffer zone is framed by an exposed concrete wall and a vertical screen. The vertical screen is composed of two layers of 1”X3” aluminum rectangular tubes ribbeted to a four inch aluminum plate frame. The two layers create a regularized vertical moire affect, where two layers are superimposed to create a visual effect and add a sense of depth to the rather thin surface. As the vertical aluminum tubes are self sustaining the need for a secondary structural system to hold the surface in place was avoided, rendering the front and back of the skin the same. These screens sustained Hurricane Maria’s 155 mph winds intact.
The spatial intervention mainly occurred in the dining and living room areas by carving two rectangular sky lights oriented toward the north side of the residence, allowing indirect sunlight to the space. The rectangular skylights are rotated at 90 degrees along this north façade to align the dining room area with the kitchen and the entrance with the living room, therefore establishing a transition between these spaces. This move generates a rotary movement in the space as in a pinwheel, thus providing distinct perspectives from every corner of the space. The concrete ceilings of both rectangles were left exposed in order to establish a direct relationship with the façade at the same time they add a tactile quality to the space. The change in materials also contributes to highlight the extrusion of the volume.
