CASA MA
The project is located in a residential area of Sant Cugat del Vallès, in a consolidated suburb, made up mainly of small, low-density multi-family buildings, surrounded by gardens and a diverse architecture that reflects its time, from the 1950s to the present day.
The family that owns one of these blocks commissioned us to complete the construction of the building that was left unfinished in 2006, as well as to refurbish the existing building in order to update the performance of the envelope.
The complex is situated on a rectangular plot of about 500m2, totally flat, facing the street on one side and surrounded by isolated buildings on the sides and at the back.
The existing volume, consisting of a ground floor and two above ground car park, had a staircase on one side, strategically placed to facilitate the construction of the new volume arranged symmetrically and thus complete the building.
The extension of the building involves three new flats of about 60m2, one on each floor, in addition to the two existing ones. In total 5 dwellings.
Metric: The existing 6x17 metre building allows for the aconstruction of a new symmetrical volume, separated by the 2 m wide free-standing staircase.
However, the buildability consumed in the existing building does not permit the construction of the same surface area, and it is the front and back terraces that complete the ocupation to make the volumes exactly the same.
The oraganisation of the new dwellings is resolved by means of a central nucleus of services that separates the day zone fom the night zone while visually communicating the terraces situated on the opposite sides of the dwelling. This reinforces the south and north orientations, favouring wider views and cross ventilation.
System: The new construction is resolved as a system consisting of a double skin formed by a box, closed, inside another box, permeable, larger than the first.
The first box, a closed envelope, built with prefabricated plywood panels, provides us with the structural function, and at the same time an enclosure with optimum energy, thermal comfort and acoustic qualities typical of the material.
The second box, a permeable envelope, is formed by a tubular structure supporting the terraces, the prefabricated façade finish panels and the lattices that serve as a transition space, providing solar and visual protection and allowing larger openings in the more exposed façade, which is also better oriented.
The existing volume is also sheathed with this second box, which, without having a structural function, houses.
Materiality: A precise construction, made up of light elements of dry construction, basically steel and glass, are the materials that receive and transform the light into effects of sun and shadow, reflections and transparencies.
The combination of these materials makes it possible to create spaces where sunlight interacts dynamically with the structure. The steel elements, depending on their shape and arrangement, can cast different shadows on the interior and exterior surfaces. These shadows change constantly throughout the day and the seasons, creating a constantly evolving visual spectacle.
