CASA H
Casa H is a house, studio and workshop on a ground floor located in the center of Valencia, in the place previously occupied by the emblematic EPB Studio. The intervention, although subtle, is key when it comes to understanding the space again, where professional activity will now coexist with daily life.
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Before 2020, there was a classic and binary scheme that clearly marked what was a home and a studio (separately), but since then the line has tended to be diluted and mixed. Faced with this new changing scenario, architecture must be able to collect and apply the new variables, to adapt and evolve at the same time as people's way of life. The intervention arises precisely that year and is the result of this new context. The project, therefore, reflects on and proposes new ways of living, focusing on flexibility, the fluidity of spaces and the complete connection of the exterior with the interior.
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At the starting point, the studio is divided into two large rooms separated by a patio. The main intention of the project is to change the concept: THE PATIO DOES NOT SEPARATE BUT UNITES. With this objective, the connection piece is completely permeable and has sufficient dimensions to house not only a necessary passageway but also the large kitchen, essential both in the home and in the studio, thus endowing it with meaning and intention. The patio and the kitchen therefore become the core of the house, where most of life takes place and from where you have a perspective of everything that happens.
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The exterior carpentry system of this piece is made up of square modules in natural iron that form two large sliding leaves. When they are opened, the line between the kitchen and the patio blurs, making it impossible to determine where one ends and the other begins. The concrete pavement extends from the interior to the exterior, thus emphasizing the sense of continuity. The dimension of the house becomes variable, by incorporating the exterior space as a fundamental and indivisible part.
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The project proposes to inhabit the house in a completely open and flexible way, where all the spaces are connected to each other. The layout of the night area is planned around a piece of woodwork that orders the space around it without restricting it. The circulation is always fluid and continuous. The concept of this piece reflects even more on the variables in a home, which constantly change over time: the piece is ephemeral and versatile, it can be modified and transformed along with the needs of the people who live in the house.
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The materiality of the house points out the value of the original space and
maintains the natural iron carpentry, the wooden flooring or the concrete wall where the studio logo stands out, but at the same time places the house in the present moment and reflects references that bring it closer to Japanese aesthetics, such as the new interior woodwork in birch, the use of color, the continuous flooring or the light and flexible enclosures. The project extols the original study and links it to contemporary architecture with absolute respect and admiration.
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The result of the project is a convertible and fluid house. It is inside and outside at the same time. It is home, studio and workshop. It is capable of adapting and changing over time. It is Valencia and Japan. It is respect for the preexisting and new relationships between spaces. But above all, it is a starting point and an opportunity to conceive new architectures.
