Renovation house
2781-LMM-VLC.ES-2021
Architects: Calmm architecture, Joan Sanz arquitectura
Client: Private
Status: Research
Location: Valencia, Spain
Coordinates: 39.5586520, -0.5350030
Climate: Mediterranean, Temperate
Materials: Wood, Plaster
Environment: Urban
Visualizer: Studio
Budget: 130.000 €
Scale: 135 ㎡ Small
Ratio: 962,96 €/㎡
Types: House, Refurbishment, Residential

Located on the banks of the Granolera stream, the plot enjoys a very attractive landscape with a marked topography; however, the morphology of the existing house does not contribute to the enjoyment of it. The existing volume is made up of disjunctive additions that have been incorporated trhoughout time to the original house to satisfy the immediate needs of its inhabitants. These annexes ended up forming a heterogeneous volume and deteriorated the architectural value of the original construction.

The proposal starts from the idea of studying the evolutionary process of the house to transform it by enhancing the authenticity of the traditional Valencian construction methods. The analysis allows us to reinterpret the existing volume to give it a clear and homogeneous geometry that ensures its future adaptability. This homogenization process is also the strategy adopted to ensure energy transformation as it gives the volume greater compactness and therefore greater energy efficiency. With this objective, the project plans to dismantle a part of the house, for a later recovery and reuse of its materials into a new and lore comapct volume.

Once the programmatic and project bases are established, the new volume takes the shape of a gabled roof. It was decided to change the functions of the East and South facades to ensure the enjoyment of the landscape of the Granolera stream and take full advantage of the rising wind, so pleasant in the Mediterranean coast. For this reason, the main access is moved to the South façade and the internal distribution of the house is adapted creating a large longitudinal living space that ensures East-West cross ventilation.

The new covered terrace is formalized under a porticoed space that allows to accentuate the visual relation between the interior of the house and the close landscape. These porticoes, with a contemporary language, create a connection between interior and exterior. Under the porch, and taking advantage of the uneven existing topography, a part of the program is introduced. This way, the house is integrated into the landscape, in turn giving the volume a more compact image.

The porch is the hinge element that allows to create new routes between the interior of the house and the exterior spaces. It works as a holiday terrace, but also as a gallery that allows you to easily connect the different platforms that make up the garden. A small staircase connects the porch with the southen area of the house and in turn this with the pool. In front of the pool, the steps are transformed into a small bleacher that visually connects the southern area of the plot.

The preserved facades are recomposed by introducing small architectural elements typical of Mediterranean architecture. A variety of plasters, planters, or theincorporation of lattices allow to reinterpret the proportions of the facades and to anchor the intervention to the memory of the place.

Team: Luis Masiá Massoni, Fabio Cavaterra, Luisa Barbudo Morales, Joan Sanz | Post date: 22/02/2021 | Views: 2.291