1802 - En bateria

Architecture and Art

In Sa Pobla we find this single-family house, built on an elongated plot between party walls. The house has two floors and a large patio with garden and pool.

Both the ground floor and the first floor share a simple operating scheme. It is a main bay in the longitudinal direction -the space can be opened from the street to the courtyard-, accompanied by a second smaller and more compartmentalized bay, divided into pieces that develop the different functions of the house. This second bay is the "battery" that gives life to the house, serving it of all required functionality and endowing the main bay with "the luxury of the emptiness". This void is now a wildcard that will be able to flexibly accommodate more public uses (connecting with the street) and more private (with the courtyard) in addition to enlarging the sleeping spaces to a point where the idea of bedroom as such is diluded on the first floor.

This "battery" scheme is applied to the entire house, reaching even the façade, where the elevation reveals its secrets through a very marked materiality.

On the other hand, on the south side, where we find the courtyard, a gallery protects the building from direct radiation in summer, creating a chimney that evacuates excess temperature, while in winter it captures as much energy as possible in the form of heat, creating a thermal area that has the ability to release hot air at a slower pace, as required by the home.

To maximize this energy austerity tendency, it is decided to use a material with great thermal inertia and a low environmental impact such as ceramics, which will act as a structural element and as a finish layer in most of the rooms. Furthermore, given the choice to move forward with blocks of thermoclay and to leave this visible, the project requires a very thorough study of the dimensions and modulation to avoid it from being divided, since it does not respond well to half-piece cuts.

At the same time, on the upper floor the wood makes an appearance, generating an extra feeling of warmth in winter.

Concrete is the last material to join the project. Its use in floors and slabs provides an aesthetic counterpoint and balances the excess of color in general, in addition to solidifying the structural behaviour of the project and also giving it a resistance that will guarantee its durability over time, a factor that will be very important if we want this home to be truly sustainable the best way we know how; by serving its inhabitants for many years.