House and Yoga Centre
The house is a collection of interconnected boxes, almost all of them with more than one entrance. At first sight their seemingly labyrinthine organization is not conducive to an understanding of the house, but this is gradually revealed as one moves through it.
The different itineraries embrace the main spaces of the house, set out around the central patio: study, lounge, dining room and an informal lounge that occupies an almost freestanding pavilion that swivels slightly in order to partially close off the patio. The pavilion is protected from the sun by wood blinds that hang from a delicate metal support which separates them from the windows halfway down, giving a gentle curve to their fall.
The extending outwards of the wooden eaves permit the sun’s entry in winter and keeps out the high summer sun. On summer nights a skylight over the staircase opens to produce an updraft, for natural night cooling.
Geothermal installation provides low temperature under-floor heating beneath the bespoke ceramic tiles by Cerámica Cumella. Rainwater runoff from the green roof is collected in a 15,000-litre cistern for watering the garden. The house has a Class A energy rating with an annual consumption of 29 kWh/m2 and emissions of 7 kg of CO2/m2 a year.
