Architect: Ramon Esteve
Location: Valencia, Spain
Photographer: Mariela Apollonio
On the basis of four stone walls, we generate prismatic volumes that fragment the space, identifying each room. The interstitial area between the parts is covered by an element of wood, which acts as a distributor and connector between the spaces of the house.
Some prismatic volumes come out from the four stone sidewalls, thus enclosing the space and differentiating each room. The area between the rooms is covered by a timber roof acting as a hall and a connector.
“The opening sequence of the gaps of the house reflects the hierarchical order of the outdoor areas” – Ramon Esteve
VARIOUS DEGREES OF INTIMACY
The aim of the project is the creation of different outdoor areas linked to the interior rooms, according to their level of privacy. Each room has a different height in function of their use in the developing plant, except for the volume of the bedrooms. With This set-up a cross-shaped plan that arranges the external space is generated.
SPACE TOUR
Two large stone walls protect the access. While the visitor comes in, the space becomes more permeable, allowing glances to the garden with the pool through the lattice of the kitchen porch.
ElEMENTS
A deck of wooden planks assembles the entrance to the house, giving the hall a very human scale. The materials, together with the raking lights through the longitudinal skylight produces a warm and cosy atmosphere.
The wooden volumes act as distributor and connector of the different rooms, while open to all outdoor spaces.
“The volumes containing the living room, dining room and kitchen, while being independent, they are visually linked due to their position, which gives the House a greater scope and transparency”. – Ramón Esteve
The other two volumes host the main bedroom, two bedrooms on the lower floor and a studio on the upper floor. The continuous porches lengthen the rooms, by creating outdoor areas that open and extend the rooms.
“Given its location, the materials of the house are taken from the references of the Mediterranean pine forests.”
The masonry walls are combined with the carpentry of afrormosia wood to create a private and pleasant atmosphere. Some weathering steel lattices, operating as shutters on windows and porches, complete the materials’ palette. The shallow pool of water evokes a pond that is reflected in the housing and part of the vegetation.
The dining tables and the barbecue table have been specifically designed for this house, reproducing the scheme and philosophy of the house in composition of the legs.
The interior design is based on the concepts of simplicity, noble materials, colors of harmony and a fluid visual connection with the outside nature.
