MJ House
This house is a contemporary reinterpretation of the essential components of the traditional Mediterranean house: porch, patio, wood, ceramics, white façade…
We took advantage of the topography of the location in order to determine the project section. The whole house is developed on the first floor and descends one floor to connect with the street below, creating space for parking in order to avoid excessive site excavation.
On the first floor the house is organized around a central patio that faces the main entry of the house. Childrens´ spaces, all but absent in the former house, are kept separate by a wood enclosure that functions as an implicit barrier and allows the house to become smaller without making this change in size noticeable. The rest of the program develops close to the garden, in a sequence of kitchen & dining room, living room, bedroom, all open to the porch and maximizing use of the diagonals inside the house.
From the exterior, the house is a simple white volume that contrasts with the green of the surrounding pines. The moss of the pines dapples the afternoon light in front of the children´s rooms. Inside, the textures of the house enrich the light from the interior patio and porch. A brick wall runs the length of the house and wooden furniture organize the rooms. The brick chimney emerges from inside the volume and roots the house in the land.
