Architects: RCR Arquitectes Photography: Hisao Suzuki Construction Period: 2014 Location: Olot, Spain
When RCR Arquitectes was asked to transform a historical building in Girona, Spain, into a modern house now called Casa Entremuros, their only constraint was to keep the entrance overlooking the street and the perimeter walls. They were then free to let their imagination run wild. And needless to say, they went fairly far.
The conception of the Casa Entremuros is groundbreaking. It relies on a theatrical metaphor. Two corridors on the sides surround an immense central space divided into different levels and heights. This is the stage. It’s facing a huge glass wall, meaning that this main volume is visible from the garden. From the outside, the house looks like an amphitheater with the garden as spectator seating. The little scenes of life that take place within the divided interior spaces seem interconnected, and yet, privacy is still an option thanks to clever organization. Everything has been made so that the various areas cannot directly overlook one another.
Read MoreOn the side of the “stage”, the two corridors are delimited by steel slats. Vertical lines accentuate the vast space left by the central volume. Following the bending roof, the slats lead us toward the gigantic glass wall, thus creating an amazing feeling that the metaphor has taken a turn. Roles have been reversed: the spectacle becomes what’s outside as seen through this immense window, and the people inside become spectators.
The Casa Entremuros is a beautiful testimony of modern architecture. The minimalism of its shapes and the materials used highlight the massive volume and the original organization of the living space.
Text provided by the architect.
