House in the Air: Simplicity on a Rugged Slope

Zahara de los Atunes is one of those places where the ordinary becomes exceptional. Every day has its sunrise and sunset, but the way it happens in this unique place is difficult to describe.

With this starting point, the architecture is arranged almost like a mechanism to protect ourselves while capturing the spectacle offered by our surroundings.
Due to its sloping terrain, the structure appears as a piece of architecture deposited in the environment. The site is prepared with a sort of foundation made from the grey tonality of the stones found in the surroundings; in fact, the name Zahara comes from the Arabic Sahara, which could be translated as a “rocky place”. This foundation allows the house to be settled at the necessary level to ensure the view of the sunset reflection in the surface of the Atlantic Ocean.

At the opposite side, we find a quiet courtyard that provides shelter for the strong winds of Tarifa, this courtyard also leads to the complementary rooms of the house. As if the upper floor was dropped over the plinth, the residence is divided into three areas. The main area is the living room. Entirely passing between the northwest, where the magical sunset takes place, and the southeast where no structural element interferes with the interior space and the landscape. On both sides are the night areas with the same orientation. This arrangement balances the structure and gives privacy to the main room.
A simple architecture embedded in a place where any sensitive observer will be able to enjoy all the colours.

Project info:

Project title: House on the Air
Architecture: Fran Silvestre Arquitectos
Location: Tarifa, Cadiz, Andalusia, Zahara de los Atunes, Spain
Built area: 400 square meters
Photography: Fernando Guerra

0:00 – House on the Air
10:37 – Drawings

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  • House LV1 (house nanchi 1 y 2)

    CASA LV1 (casa nanchi 1 y 2)
    BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE CONSTRUCTION
    The Casa LV1 (casa nanchi 1 and 2), is a multi-familiar conformed by two houses constructed in the same land, the main material used for its construction was white striated concrete.
    DESCRIPTIVE MEMORY
    The Casa LV1 (casa nanchi 1 and 2) is a complex of two houses designed for a family an elderly couple, their young daughter and their granddaughter. Each house has the necessary privacy for each development, with the interrelationship and coexistence of the family; they are located in an irregular diamond-shaped land of approximately 250m2, a gradient over 10% with a view to the southeast.
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    The Casa nanchi 2 has on its main floor: living room, dining room, kitchen, bathroom and service area; on the upper floor it has: main bedroom with closet and its own bathroom, an additional bedroom with closet, a little play room and a bathroom; on the lower floor, where the entrance is, has: two parking lots and an exterior stair which is connected to the other floors. The total constructed surface of the house is 145 m2 excluding parking lots.
    Both houses share main entrance, service yard, green spaces and services.
    The houses are named after the nanchi tree (byrosonimacrassifolia) that is located in that land; it was respected and the project was adapted around it, to make it a natural decoration for the dinning room of the Casa nanchi 1. This house was designed for an elderly couple and it has a terrace in the upper floor, which is a recreational and relaxing space with a view of the surroundings to enjoy with the company of family, friends and guests. It has a double-height space which allows the development of the tree.
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    The concept of the houses is derogates no only from the connection (interior-familiar, exterior-landscape), but also from the visual freedom that people perceive before entering in the house and also in the interior of them. This is fulfilled by the volumetric integration that defined the spaces of each house, both prisms have specific substractions that allow a formal integration of the two elements; in the Casa nanchi 1 the terrace is subtracted and in the Casa nanchi 2 the parking area is subtracted, transforming both elements without losing its integrity.
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    The material, white striated exposed concrete and stone dust of the region, recalls the honesty of the materials, this simplicity benefits the environment, because it doesn’t use coatings in walls, fooors or roofs, contributing the less possible to the pollution. The exposed finishes means less production, transportation and utilization of pollutant materials. As said before, the free circulation of air allows a constant cleaning of the interior air which allows a natural regulation of the temperature, achieving termic comfort for the users and reducing the use of electronic devices that cools artificially the place. Besides, the same large windows avoid the unnecessary use of artificial illumination during the day allowing the entrance of sunlight in the morning.