WHEN YOU HAVE THE IDEAL PLOT WITH EXCELLENT SOUTH-FACING ORIENTATION AND SOLAR GAIN, COMPLETELY FLAT AND BORDERING A GREEN AREA, THE PROJECT CAN ONLY RUN SMOOTHLY. THIS IS THE CASE OF A YOUNG COUPLE WITH GREAT EXCITEMENT ABOUT LIVING A PEACEFUL LIFE, ENJOYING THEIR HOME IN CONTACT WITH NATURE AND CLOSE TO THEIR FAMILY.

This family comes to our studio with a simple brief: a three-bedroom home that meets their current and future needs for living and remote work. They want to enjoy the outdoor space, and their plot borders a beautiful olive grove.

PROJECT SITE PLANNING

We start with a perfect plot: an elongated shape with a south-facing orientation along its long side, and a slight downward slope from the street until it reaches a completely flat area where the house can be built.

The design is therefore based on a very simple scheme: a rectangular floor plan in which the spaces progress from more public to more private, divided by a courtyard inserted into the volume to improve natural light and ventilation.

Privacy on the west façade is affected by a neighbour’s house with direct views over our plot, and for this reason the parking area is located on this side, separated from the house, with an access pergola.

The south façade is protected by a planted pergola that helps us regulate and increase privacy, and acts as an excellent natural solar-control device.

bioclimatic strategy

One of the key aspects that makes this project exceptional is the decision to orient all rooms—both shared areas and bedrooms—strictly to the south, a distinctive feature that enables excellent passive thermal performance throughout all habitable spaces.

We take advantage of the heat gains achieved through large south-facing openings, which are stored in thermal-mass walls and maintained thanks to excellent external insulation.

On the north side, by contrast, we need a thermal buffer to protect us from the coldest façade. To achieve this, we place service spaces such as bathrooms and the plant room there, and create a very solid façade with few openings, protected with wooden louvre shutters solely for privacy reasons.

As we have excellent solar exposure, we need a way to control it throughout the different seasons. For this reason, we install a pergola that spans the full length of the south façade, to be shaded with deciduous vegetation and simple wooden roller shutters.

In summer, the vegetation completely covers the top of the pergola and the wooden roller shutters are lowered, blocking the sun while ensuring natural ventilation, further enhanced by improved thermal comfort thanks to photosynthesis and the evaporation generated by the vegetation.

In winter, the deciduous vegetation loses its leaves and allows heat gain indoors.

CONSTRUCTION SYSTEM AND SERVICES

This is a home with a double brick wall with insulation between layers and an inverted roof. The joinery is timber, as is the kitchen and bathroom cabinetry. The garage is not insulated.

In terms of building services, a biomass boiler is used to produce hot water for the kitchen and bathrooms, and an air-renewal system with heat recovery is installed.

Photographs: Salva López