HOUSE K
A house for a lifetime.
The owner, a young woman, wanted the house to be adaptable to her needs over time. It had to be a changeable and versatile house, suitable for a single person, for several friends, for a family with children, for an elderly couple alone or with assistance, etc. We were looking for a house where you could live in a peaceful domestic environment, but where you could also work comfortably, in contact with the ground and the nature, and with natural light in all the spaces. In short, it had to be an adapted and adaptable house, a house forever.
The site, initially complicated due to its location and shape, was rather an opportunity to develop the project with a greater intention and intensity. The plot is completely flat and located on the outskirts of the city, in an old village that is now a neighbourhood. To the north, the residential area borders a busy and noisy road. On the other hand, to the south we can contemplate the changing beauty of nature, with the sun and the beautiful views towards and old wooded mill bed that borders a social and sports club. The site is triangular in shape and narrows to the west, what made difficult the physical occupation of that area.
These conditions led to the idea of a house that is almost completely enclosed to the north, to protect itself from the cold weather and the noisy road, but very open to the south. The project, mainly built with concrete bricks manufactured by a local company, is developed on a single L-shaped floor. The longer wing is a complete house in itself, while the shorter one can accommodate extra activities or future needs.
The structure, formed of seven rectangular concrete bays measuring 6.3x4.5 metres, builds the different spaces, some of which can be used for different purposes, interchangeable and grouped together as required. A small wooded patio, protected by a brick lattice that allows to know intuitively its presence from outside, gathers the accesses from the north and creates a wide crack between the two perpendicular parts, to finally reveal the main space of the house, elongated, luminous and completely open to the southern garden by means of a glazed plan that is protected by exterior roller blinds. These mobile elements, together with the high thermal insulation of the entire covering and the carefully studied orientation and layout of the openings, help to achieve a high energy efficiency. The spaces initially intended for bedrooms, which can also house work, library or play areas, are oriented towards small side gardens, appropriating voids that would otherwise be useless. All the spaces have natural light, either from the façades or through skylights in the roof.
