We believe that the initial process of composing an architectural project connects and resonates with what Evans proposes. Jazz uses a foundation as a structure to define the boundaries of music; within that framework, instruments take turns improvising or intuitively accommodating themselves to a pre-existing structure. Silences are as important as notes, and rhythm is what organizes the distribution of sounds in time.

In this project, the boundary is given by the perimeter edge of the roof, which defines the scope of the construction. Inside, the solids and voids configure the space and the program of the house in close relation to the natural pre-existing elements.
Natural light defines time in the experience of the work, producing changing shadows and atmospheres, similar to what John Abercrombie does in Timeless. The wind that blows through the space and sweeps the leaves can evoke Philly Joe Jones’ brushes alongside the Miles Davis Quintet.

A Forest in the House proposes an alternative approach to harmonizing the built form with its natural surroundings. Rather than treating existing trees as obstacles, the project embraces them as fundamental guides that shape the spatial program.
The trees delineate the relationship between occupied spaces and voids, freeing the structure from conventional grid systems and establishing a dynamic rhythm that reflects the patterns of nature. This non-orthogonal disposition of the pillars contributes to the structure’s lateral stability. The solid volumes are constructed using compressed earth blocks (CEBs), reinforcing the project’s commitment to a material dialogue with the landscape.

Vertical structural elements are carefully arranged among the trees. By aligning themselves so as not to interfere with the roots, they recede visually and integrate into the background, blending with the natural logic of the surrounding trunks. This conscious integration generates a dialogue in which artifice and nature speak the same language.


The spatial composition unfolds across two distinct horizontal planes. The primary plane, the floor, rises subtly, allowing tree roots to evolve freely over time. In parallel, the secondary plane, the ceiling, replicates this geometry to form a terrace that invites occupants to enjoy panoramic views of the treetops.

Ultimately, the project imagines a future in which the boundaries between architecture and nature dissolve: a future in which the built environment is as organic as its natural context. This vision not only proposes a different spatial solution, but also offers a reminder of the potential for coexistence and balance. Thus, in unison, all the elements of the house compose a big band that, depending on the season or time of day, plays the music that best accompanies the experience.

Text provided by the architects.

This solid volume has two irregular and faceted perforations, as if they were large extracted stones. One at the back, which opens a small terrace towards the garden. The other is a mirror that reflects a portion of the mountain landscape in the composition of the façade and allows you to observe the movement of the town from the kitchen.

On the staircase, the concrete overflows towards the living room with its first steps, which emerge from the ground, and rises like a light structure of folded white sheet metal that floats between the concrete walls.

To the north, there are the other two modules intended for social, tectonic, industrial technology and material unity spaces through the white finish. Built in a metal structure placed every four meters that supports the roof of round sticks, covered with tongue and groove on the inside and corrugated sheet metal on the outside. This lightness allows the interior space to flow, integrating the living-dining room with the gallery. The upper floor overlooks both the patio and the dining room.

Finally, the house is wrapped with a system of mobile enclosure that enable and qualify an intermediate space. The various opening configurations that regulate the entry of light define the interior atmosphere and the envelope is therefore changing, sensitive to the environment and use. Being a weekend house, it remains completely closed most of the time, evidencing its formal synthesis.

With details such as the entrance handle made up of four floating stones of White Micosa, a step of Field Stone suspended on the terrace, the intentional changes in scale and a glass line throughout the development of the house that separates the white from the concrete base, the aim is to reinforce the evident duality between solidity and lightness of the work. With the differentiated opening towards the mountain landscape that integrates it into the environment plus the juxtaposition of construction techniques, the dialogue between the essential, the enduring and the ethereal is established.

Text provided by the architects.

Inside the house, a gallery connects the spaces, arranged transversely to it. The access volume is 1.50 m wide and is marked by the rhythm of the wooden roof structure, composed of 19 modules of 80 cm each. The glass facade opens like a balcony, allowing uses that go beyond simple circulation.

In contrast to the visual permeability of the gallery, the volume of the living spaces is enclosed by a plane of solid bricks, directing the view toward the opposite boundary. The bedrooms, kitchen, living room, and bathrooms are at the level of the tree foliage, with large windows framing the greenery. From there, it is possible to observe the rhythm of numerous birds, woodpeckers, and squirrels.

The roof connects the volumes transversely, divided into two slopes with a 30 cm height difference between the circulation area and the internal spaces, allowing light to enter. The width of the rooms follows the same modulation as the gallery. From the inside, it is possible to see how the limits of the house dissolve through the reflection of the green and the sky on the galvanized steel eaves.

Text provided by the architect.

The house has 2 entrances: The daily income is given by the lower part of the lot, while the main income is presented at the top of it. The street level is above the roof, which acts as a large reception square/viewpoint, from where you can see an imposing view of the mountains and the city of Cordoba. It is covered with reinforced concrete and flooded, resolving the materiality of the square, providing thermal and energy balance inside, at a low cost and contributing to the natural environment. The materiality of the house follows the concept of the use of raw, bare noble materials, expressing its nature and generating a respectful relationship with the environment. In addition to concrete, local stone, wood and glass were used.

Text provided by the architect.

Once the first acions have been decided, the next of the strategies will link heaven and earth. Two complementary construcion operaions are proposed. A gravid wall that belongs to a stereotomic and heavy type that emerges from the earth, and a light wooden structure, floaing on the concrete columns.

The new architecture is proposed through load-bearing walls that consolidate the program on the outer edge. On the north the access is placed, which is reached by descending a steep slope that has a flared hollow, linking the Hermitage, Church and paio. On this same wall, but facing South, two climate-protected spaces are responsible for providing shelter inside. The bathroom, kitchen and other complementary uses consolidate the construcion on the western limit, configuring a self-absorbed architecture that observes the exterior garden landscape through two openings. To the east, the exising construcion, the grocery, connects with the new space, execuing a staircase and opening a single opening to link interior and paradise. A series of recovery operaions are carried out on this construcion; The enclosure is repaired by applying rendered lime mortar and troweled without mastering, in addiion to a new mini-wave sheet that prevents the entry of water and provides a scalar sense to the whole.

The new space is built looking at the material and typological memory of its past. For this, a lime mortar mixed with sandstone powder from La Rioja is used, which offers its unique toasted tobacco color. The mortar is applied with two techniques, the first of which passes the trowel in favor of the lime. Therefore, the stone material remains underneath, showing “the good face” of the mortar, which is reminiscent of the the windows ashlars in tradiional La Rioja and Casilla architecture. The second of the techniques carried out operates in the opposite direcion. In this way, the sandstone dust settles on top, consolidaing a rough appearance that recalls the old faces of the ashlars that build holes and sockets.

The structure, carpentry and cabinets are made enirely of ¨pino radiata¨ wood from the Basque Country. Likewise, the limestone that makes up the perimeter countertops or the stone slabs of the flooring comes from La Rioja itself, so all the materials that our context has at its disposal are used. The paio for Elena aspires to build an architecture that configures a kind of physical memory of the locaion. An architecture that, using shadow as a resource, configures a typological and materially unexpected space for Bañares.

Text provided by the architect.

To generate the feeling of a single-story staggered house, a lightweight metal roof rests on the structural BTC walls of the side facades and the round metal pillars of the front and back facades. This continuous roof makes an inflection in the height of the third slab, opening the view towards the top of the valley and creating a mezzanine.

The direct dialogue between the house and the topography and the use of concrete and BTC blocks reflect the weight of the work. The building is placed on the ground, rests on it and ensures that all bedrooms, living room and kitchen have access to the patio and external areas. At the bottom of each slab, the construction touches the ground where the continuous beams-columns meet. Its front, always elevated, guarantees the downward flow of water, avoids major cuts in the land and allows the passage of some small animals that move between the houses.

Text provided by the architect.

From the outside, mono material. A thick work that emerges from the place. Reinforced concrete resolves the structure and space; the relationship between the sun and the cell phone. Their walls have a rugged finish capable of highlighting the country of the weather and imprinting on the work the climate and tones of the land itself. Per dins, it is seen in whip, a warm material in contrast to the harsh exterior, which upon entering will reveal its very particular perfume.

Living on the edge of the treetop, an area for living, eating, cooking and waking up, connecting with the landscape. In contrast, an introverted mezzanine, with a flat floor plan and suspended over the entire building with light from below, provides an atmosphere that favors introspection. A lloc that proposes an other relationship with the country of the times.

Text provided by the architect.