House on a Brick Base
The plot is located approximately 20km from Barcelona, in a residential neighborhood of St. Vicenç dels Horts. It is bordered to the east, west, and south by a set of built parcels, and opens to the north, to Valls Street. The land has two distinct levels. On the upper level, an old tool shed reveals the agricultural origin of the site. On the lower level, a small dilapidated building invites the construction of a new home, recalling old building traditions of the area.
A stacked brick base to contain the clay soil of the pre-existing section. A continuous band that expands the new architecture to the limits of the plot, taking advantage of a void in the lower floor to increase the proposed area. This band supports the upper floor, using a new T-shaped brick wall that acts as a prop.
On top of the brick base, a prefabricated CLT box is placed. The exterior is covered with white-washed cork panels, while the interior is left exposed, except for two elements: a tongue-and-groove technical floor that serves to run the installations, and whitewashed plywood volumes that slide between the interior and exterior of the house, containing the domestic program.
The upper floor, more related to the sky and the winter season, proposes two bedrooms connected to each other by a shelf-wall, an open bathroom with generous blue-colored zenithal light views, and a versatile living room-kitchen that extends towards the dining space. The lower floor, more related to the earth and the summer warmth, surrounds the T-shaped brick wall and houses a third bedroom, a second living room, a small bathroom, and an extensive service and installation room.
Outside the limits of the plot, the interior life is shown with a certain degree of hermeticity. Only a perforated brick wall and a double-opening door for vehicles and people give a glimpse of what is happening inside. Beyond the vertical plane, a horizontal plane announces two possibilities: to connect with a ramp that allows access to the lower level of the terrain or to connect with stairs hidden behind the perforated wall, which suggests the possibility of a ceremonial ascent towards the built interior. Following the stairs leads to the discovery of an old well preserved for irrigation and a century-old olive tree. Both elements place the visitor in front of the main door.
Crossing it, a large skylight warns us of the strong exterior presence that actually exists inside the project, even in the most intimate places. The light serves as a guide toward large balcony doors. By opening them, a French balcony turns the house into a porch. With views front of the landscape, roll-up shutters offer a passive system of climatic protection. The light also reaches the most clayey part of the house. It takes advantage of the space of the spiral staircase, in charge of connecting the built levels. This is when the brick wall of the plinth is recognized from different rooms. When the ceramic, is transformed into a filter, is capable of introducing the white color of the neighboring houses. When the crushed ceramics of the roof recognize the nearby tiles, also enjoying the fields of old St. Vicenç.
