Eugeni Pons archivos - Global Spaces

Cortijo Jamonero

Jordi Costa — Sat, 23 Mar 2024 18:31:31 +0000

Architects: Jorge Vidal Marcos Catalán Studio Photography: Eugeni Pons Construction Period: 2023 Location: Cáceres, Spain

The Garciaz Cortijo House is the result of an intervention in an old existing farmhouse, linked for dozens of years to livestock farming.

The proposed house recovers and enhances the local typology of “cortijo”, separating the program into several bodies of changing geometry, favoring integration into the landscape, as if it were a rural village.

Intermingling with the existing walls, the house proposes an access through the courtyard -south facing-, culminating in a sequence of outdoor spaces between oaks and rocks.

The construction of the entire project has been executed with a high degree of craftsmanship: the stone -slate and granite- was selected from a nearby quarry; chestnut tree trunks from the same plot were felled and dried, which would later be used for the beams, furniture and carpentry; the concrete for the lintels, perimeter rings, chimneys and spades contains aggregates and sands from the area; and copper was also manipulated to manufacture all the faucets in situ.

These decisions were made with the intention of carrying out a sustainable rehabilitation, based on 0 Km materials. In addition, these materials perform optimally in the extreme and changeable climate of the valley: the local stone walls, with high thermal inertia, store heat during the hot summer days of Extremadura and cool down at night. Likewise, in winter they also act as a heat reserve to face the cold nights of the region.

In order to bring the house closer to the landscape, and open it to the outside, a series of openings are proposed through large wooden frames, which not only frame the landscape, but also illuminate and ventilate the spacious living rooms. These boxes are inhabited windows: artifacts that contain sofas, shelves, benches… and that provide the domesticity that the interior of a house requires. In this way, the facades become a reflection of this interior life, rather than responding to purely compositional criteria.

The rehabilitation of Cortijo Garciaz focuses on the recovery of rural Spain. After years of depopulation and rural exodus, the reconstruction of old barns and stables stands as a beacon and example for society. Recovering our architectural heritage means not only keeping our culture alive but also continuing to work the land, livestock farms, and the much-needed connections between villages. For this reason, the Cortijo Garciaz estate started a new business, “Jamones Leandro”, reaffirming its commitment to rural Spain, offering a top quality product in keeping with the architectural values of the Cortijo.

Text provided by the architect.

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Entremuros house

Jordi Costa — Fri, 06 Jan 2023 08:31:17 +0000

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.

On 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.

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Covered market

Jordi Costa — Tue, 17 May 2022 16:06:15 +0000

Architects: Dominique Coulon Photography: Eugeni Pons Construction Period: 2014-2018 Location: Schiltigheim, France

Schiltigheim is the third largest town in the Bas-Rhin département (eastern France) in terms of population, and is the most densely populated town in the Strasbourg metropolis. It developed in the nineteenth century, centred on brewing and related industrial activities. These activities declined in the late twentieth century, leaving much industrial land lying waste. The rehabilitation of the butchers’ cooperative is part of a process initiated by the municipality with the aim of regenerating the town’s urban fabric. The place was originally a distillery, before becoming a butchers’ cooperative, and had been taken over by the municipal authorities, who had turned it into an exhibition area for young artists and a place for drama performances. When the venue ceased to meet the safety standards in force, it was closed to the public — for a decade. The substantial rehabilitation project deals with the building in two ways: the emblematic site in the heart of the historic centre of the town has been given a new lease of life, while its heritage and architectural integrity have been preserved. Its mixed programme and the through passage it creates confers on it the status of a public space, accommodating a market, places for shopkeepers, an exhibition area, and a creative workshop.

This new art centre and covered market is set within an exemplary built context, comprising strips of land and remarkable examples of vernacular architecture. While affirming its contemporary dimension, it highlights the constructional and aesthetic qualities of the existing buildings on the site. In doing so, it returns to a process that has characterised the formation of our built heritage — stratification. The transparency of the bay windows contrasts with the material opacity of the wood-framed houses. It thrusts itself upwards, providing shelter for the summer bar, which really extends the exhibition area outdoors. This generous arrangement confers institutional status on the cultural centre, which is intended above all to serve as a place where all can gather and talk. On the inside, the architecture and the scenography are used to promote spatial polyvalence by proposing efficient internal functioning and modulable light. Here, the exhibition area attains it universal ideal, becoming a single space with multiple uses.

Text provided by the architect.

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