The house is located on a rectangular plot in a residential area in the municipality of Santa Maria de Palautordera. The project consists of a house for a couple with two children, who want to build only part of the plot, leaving the maximum of free space as a garden, as they love to spend time outdoors.
From the first sketches, the house has been conceived as a compact construction and at the same time permeable to the outside. The building is concentrated on the eastern and northern boundaries by means of two linear bodies: a two-storey volume containing the house program and a second, smaller building used as a parking and storage space. A series of light porches and lattices create a series of spaces that dissolve the boundaries between the house and the garden.
A large part of the ground floor is conceived as a single open space that incorporates the main areas of the house (living-dining-kitchen) and opens completely to the outside to enjoy the views and the natural light. This space, together with the porch, is configured as an extension of the garden and reflects the owners' desire to enjoy the annexed outdoor spaces to the maximum.
The different spaces on the ground floor (living room, dining room, kitchen, staircase and study) are connected to the porch and the garden through generous openings. A series of sliding panels separates the study, staircase and dining/living room, allowing for a graduated degree of privacy as needed.
The staircase occupies a central space in the house and is designed as a double-height space that distributes natural light and visually connects the two floors of the house. In contrast to the ground floor, the first floor is designed as a compact and more introverted linear volume that provides a more private space for the rooms and also incorporates a bathroom and laundry room with a sheltered outdoor terrace.
The house incorporates a series of energy efficiency criteria compatible with a lifestyle more suited to the Mediterranean climate. The construction is designed with thermo-argilla walls and SATE insulation, which significantly reduce energy consumption combined with a good thermal inertia of the envelope. Special attention has been paid to flexible solar control through the use of porches, lattices and sliding shutters, which allow light and sun to be regulated according to the needs of each season. At the same time, the planting of trees, climbing plants and shrubs creates shaded areas and reduces temperatures thanks to the cooling effect of the vegetation in contact with the air currents coming from the nearby riverine forest.
