Two vertical props and a horizontal deck: the walls, thick due to structural requirements, with three interlocked layers of clay brick to form the vertical structure, and a rigid concrete deck that supports the heavy green roof. Weight and inertia. The size of the bricks defines the dimensions of the house. Their position helps to interlock the three brick layers, left exposed in order to texture the two walls and to show their structural nature. At certain points these bricks are turned around to expose their perforations and conceal the lights. At other points they are recessed in order to install the electrical mechanisms over them.

Life settles in beneath this big porch. Two closed volumes contain the private uses: bedrooms and bathrooms. Both are shaped by the same type of air brick, laid with the perforations set horizontally and vertical running joints. This bricklaying pattern and position is a statement of their non-load bearing condition. They dress the wall, almost textile-like. Semper, again.

The house is a domestic refuge. A cabin, or rather a cave, where one can take shelter and be protected from the inclement weather and the neighbours’ gaze.

Text provided by the architects.

The allotment is the last plot in a sequence with similar dimensions -roughly 20m deep with a 10m frontage- and proportions, all with party walls and laid out with the buildings set on the south side facing the avenue and the courtyards facing north. These patios are thus shaded and damp, with no direct sunlight for most of the year.
This is a corner plot, which we use to our advantage. The house is necessarily set on the edges of the plot, with no possible setbacks. For this reason, it does not follow the usual model, laid out along the short direction of the plot to generate some space in front and at the rear. Instead, it is set in the longest direction of the plot, on the side street. This frees up a courtyard/lane between the new house and the wall shared with the neighbour.

The house is thus elongated, with the rooms placed one after the other in a classic enfilade. This strategy provides each space with cross-ventilation between the street and the patio, and each room is directly related to the patio, making use of a piece of it.

The room structure and the bearer structure are coincident. Each room is bounded by four load-bearing walls. These walls are made of vibro-pressed concrete blocks, a common, economical material. All the rooms are modulated by the block dimensions (20x20x40cm), in both plan and section. The blocks and the beams that form the horizontal structure are left exposed. The lintels are also exposed and each electrical component is positioned carefully. The outer wall, with rests on a plinth and is duly linked to the inner layer, is made out of 20 and 15cm tick sandstone (the local stone that defines the island’s build landscape). A heavy façade, with high inertia. This is again an energy and climate strategy.

Text provided by the architect.