Venezuelan architect Carlos Raúl Villanueva said he was “particularly fond of concrete, a symbol of the construction of an entire century, subdued and strong as an elephant, monumental as stone, humble as brick.”
And these characteristics of full-bodied materiality and reliable robustness are well suited to this work by architects Marià Castelló and José Antonio Molina in Costa Brava, whose sculptural and essential volumes and the rough composure of the concrete forms evoke a Brutalist poetics here declined in close synergy with the natural context of settlement.
The project for a family with four children stems from the dual need, on the one hand, to insert in a balanced way the built work in the territory and, on the other, to offer the best orientation and possibility of perceptive relationship with the landscape.
The building, located within the urbanization “La Tamariua” on the north side of Puig Gros, a small promontory that surrounds and protects the port of the city, is set in the orography of the site with a strong slope towards the sea and characterized by rock formations in “pòrfit”, a dark and hard rock of volcanic origin.
The house is articulated on two levels: the lower one, at street level, entirely embedded in the rock and the upper one fragmented into two volumes, in order to reduce the volumetric impact of the construction.
On the lower level, more intimate, patios and small interstitial spaces between the building and the rock mass create intimate areas of interface between inside and outside, as well as providing natural lighting and ventilation in strategic points. On the upper floor, the two volumes open generously to the landscape, framing spectacular views of the marine horizon from the bedrooms of the east block and the living area of the west block; the glazed body connecting the two volumes, which houses the staircase, ensures the capture of natural light from the south to passively improve the indoor microclimate and acts as a protective screen of the outdoor courtyard against the frequent north winds.
Cement, the dominant compositional material, with its rough and stony nature establishes an intense dialogue with the rocky substrate of the place and ensures durability and sustainability, thanks to its high resistance to weathering and the need for little maintenance; in the exteriors, the “pòrfit” gravel used to finish the roofs and patios renews the strong material link with the site.
In the interiors, the dualism between the concrete of walls and floors and the oak wood of custom-made furniture and upholstery connotes an environment with a warm and welcoming aura where you can feel, on one hand, protected by the solidity of the rock and concrete and, on the other, outstretched towards the airy foam of the sea.
- Project:
- house in Port de la Selva
- Architects:
- Marià Castelló + José Antonio Molina
- Client:
- private
- Construction managers:
- José Antonio Molina + Lorena Ruzafa + Marià Castelló
- Building engineer:
- Joan Noguer
- Structural engineer:
- Think Enginyeria SLP
- Facilities engineer:
- QS Enginyeria i Associats SLP
- Project team:
- Lorena Ruzafa, Marga Ferrer
- Construction:
- Construccions Pòrfit