elii: House of Would

In less than two weeks, the Spanish architecture studio has completed a house made of wooden prefabricated components, seven modular volumes articulated around a central courtyard, using the terrain's slope to define private and living spaces.

Spanish architecture studio elii has recently completed a wooden house on a sloped site in Pedrezuela, 45km north of Madrid, Spain. The building comprises seven structural wooden modules, which are symmetrically articulated around a central courtyard. Each of the modules harbors a diverse domestic context, which was determined according to specific functional needs. The modular structure allows for easy changes and is adaptable, anticipating future functional changes.

The house adapts to the sloped terrain according to the desired privacy needs: private rooms are hidden from the nearby road, while the living spaces are higher, allowing views of the surrounding landscape. A few small bridges connect the diverse modules, serving as transition elements between the diverse levels.

The architects define the House of Would as a "house in 21,600 minutes". The use of prefabricated components and the dry mount of the structural panels allowed for a short execution time — in less than two weeks the house was completed, thanks to a construction system that was devised as a the assemblage of a kit of parts.

The building is surrounded by a wooden layer that composes the façade and the ventilated ceiling. The central courtyard was conceived as a garden, featuring a translucent roof that the architects compare to "a Chinese lantern", protecting this transition area and diffusing the natural light in a homogeneous manner. The wooden layer that envelops the building features specific inclinations that allow the house to collect rain water in order to water the garden.

elii: House of Would
Architects: elii - Uriel Fogué + Eva Gil + Carlos Palacios
Team: Enrico Forestieri
Client: Isabel Rodríguez Hurtado
Technical supervisor: Samuel Escudero
Structure: Mecanismo S.L.
Mechanical engineering: Nieves Plaza
Contractor: Dionisio Torralba Construcciones, Altermateria (Madera estructural)
Photography: Miguel de Guzman
Area: 210,90 square metres
Completion: July 2012