Light house

This townhouse has party walls, an elongated plan and a narrow span, and opens at the back onto a garden. Neglect and the passage of time had left the house in a state of ruin.
Luz, the owner, wanted a light-filled house where she could enjoy the outdoors and the garden. The central part of the house had neither light nor ventilation, making it barely habitable. These constraints, compounded by a low budget, led to a simple design strategy; totally emptying and stripping the interior of the building, maintaining only the stone facades and the rammed earth party walls, and organizing a new interior around a courtyard.
There are times when a contemporary approach implies not using cutting edge materials, but instead taking advantage of local know-how and the reliability of natural materials, adapting the architecture to its economic and geographic context. This is one of those occasions.

Credits

Light house

Location:
Cilleros, Extremadura (España)

Architects:
ARQUITECTURA-G (Jonathan Arnabat, Jordi Ayala-Bril, Aitor Fuentes, Igor Urdampilleta) Structural engineer: Toni Casas

Area:
136,5 m2

Photography:
José Hevia

2011-2013