Era House
©Milena Villalba

Era House

PALERA ARQUITECTOS as Architects

The project is located in Overa, a small district of Huércal-Overa, located in the north of the province of Almería, next to the Almanzora river. It is a rural environment with strong roots in agriculture. Over the years, the urban fabric of the town has blurred the agricultural footprint of the territory. The dense network of ditches, in charge of supplying water to the abundant terraces in the area, has gradually given way to a network of tarred roads, which the town has urbanized.

photo_credit ©Milena Villalba
©Milena Villalba

Despite this, ancient eras can still be distinguished, today with a renewed image far removed from those spaces where beasts were threshing, which reveal the original rural structure. This was based on a concentric arrangement around these collective work spaces, which over time acquired a character linked to leisure and social relationships.

photo_credit ©Milena Villalba
©Milena Villalba

The plot, an old terrace of orange trees segregated from the back of a family plot, lacks privacy and visuals, as it has been swallowed up by urban growth. Dividing walls of different heights and materials define its contour. The main concern of the young owners was to have an outside space with total privacy. Due to this need, it was decided to reverse the situation until now common in the rest of the town with houses aligned and open to the streets.

photo_credit ©Milena Villalba
©Milena Villalba

The concept of era, typical of the place, is reinterpreted, generating one inside whose enjoyment is exclusive to the inhabitants of the house. This “era” conditions the internal circulation of the house, building a circular route that divides the program into two halves, a day and a night zone, connected laterally by two hybrid spaces.

photo_credit ©Milena Villalba
©Milena Villalba

These assume the function of a general dressing room in the bedrooms, and a multipurpose room, which can function as an outdoor porch in summer, an auxiliary room, a games room, or a library. At the same time the central free space allows alternative transverse routes that guarantee a natural cross ventilation. When the good weather accompanies, it becomes the main space of the house, being able to be used as an open-air cinema.

photo_credit ©Milena Villalba
©Milena Villalba

Also, the need for privacy derives in the search for a blind facade that guarantees the privacy of the interior. To do this, a false frontage has been built, made with ceramic pieces, which sifts the relationship with the street and acts as a passive protection for the south facade. Generating a mattress space that can be used as a clothesline or terrace.

Caption
Caption
Caption

Material Used:
1. Facade cladding: Ceramic pieces. Model natural ACUS 18x18x7cm. Cerámica para arquitectura
2. Interior lighting: Model Cabrera. Mantra iluminación

Project Credits
Product Spec Sheet

Project Spotlight
Product Spotlight
News
Fernanda Canales designs tranquil “House for the Elderly” in Sonora, Mexico
12 Dec 2024 News
Fernanda Canales designs tranquil “House for the Elderly” in Sonora, Mexico

Mexican architecture studio Fernanda Canales has designed a semi-open, circular community center for... More

Australia’s first solar-powered façade completed in Melbourne
12 Dec 2024 News
Australia’s first solar-powered façade completed in Melbourne

Located in Melbourne, 550 Spencer is the first building in Australia to generate its own electricity... More

SPPARC completes restoration of former Victorian-era Army & Navy Cooperative Society warehouse
11 Dec 2024 News
SPPARC completes restoration of former Victorian-era Army & Navy Cooperative Society warehouse

In the heart of Westminster, London, the London-based architectural studio SPPARC has restored and r... More

Green patination on Kyoto coffee stand is brought about using soy sauce and chemicals
10 Dec 2024 News
Green patination on Kyoto coffee stand is brought about using soy sauce and chemicals

Ryohei Tanaka of Japanese architectural firm G Architects Studio designed a bijou coffee stand in Ky... More

New building in Montreal by MU Architecture tells a tale of two facades
10 Dec 2024 News
New building in Montreal by MU Architecture tells a tale of two facades

In Montreal, Quebec, Le Petit Laurent is a newly constructed residential and commercial building tha... More

RAMSA completes Georgetown University's McCourt School of Policy, featuring unique installations by Maya Lin
10 Dec 2024 News
RAMSA completes Georgetown University's McCourt School of Policy, featuring unique installations by Maya Lin

Located on Georgetown University's downtown Capital Campus, the McCourt School of Policy by Robert A... More

MVRDV-designed clubhouse in shipping container supports refugees through the power of sport
9 Dec 2024 News
MVRDV-designed clubhouse in shipping container supports refugees through the power of sport

MVRDV has designed a modular and multi-functional sports club in a shipping container for Amsterdam-... More

Archello Awards 2025 expands with 'Unbuilt' awards categories
9 Dec 2024 Archello Awards
Archello Awards 2025 expands with 'Unbuilt' project awards categories

Archello is excited to introduce a new set of twelve 'Unbuilt' project awards for the Archello Award... More