lopez-rivera's casa celosía along spain's coastline is clad with delicate ceramic latticework

mónica rivera and emiliano lopez, of barcelona-based studio lópez rivera arquitectos, present their casa celosía, or lattice house, in palafrugell. the residence, sited along spain’s northeastern cataluña coastline, takes advantage of the region’s beautiful climate with a facade of delicate ceramic latticework which floods the interior with filtered sunlight. a second facade, entirely glazed, is set back from the lattice skin and marks the fully conditioned spaces.

images by josé hevia

lopez-rivera arquitectos divided the building into two volumes, the aim being to orient the communal living-rooms towards the sea views and to adapt the building to the topography of the site. the volumes are joined together on their northern side, connecting the interior circulation of the house. the lattice is occasionally interrupted with larger fenestration in order to frame the views of the sea and the port in the distance. it is built of simple ceramic floor tiles manufactured by ceràmica cumella. witnessing the production process of the tiles in cumellas’s atelier, the studio observed the way they are fabricated in pairs, joined at their reverse side, and how once they have been fired they are separated. 

two components of prefabricated white concrete provide a frame for the latticework. the upper component crowns a green roof while the lower component conceals rolling shutters that enable the house to be closed off with complete security. the ensemble is delicately poised on the building’s load-bearing structure of sandblasted in situ concrete. because of the studio’s attention to the relationship between the house and its site, the project obtained the highest class A energy rating.