a perforated brick terrace tops this family house in valencia by piano piano studio

despite a somewhat awkward plot, piano piano studio has realized a light and airy family home in the small spanish town of foios. the design is driven by the constraints of the elongated corner site, which borders two party walls: a large one to the east, and a shorter one to the north. the resulting building looks west on its longest façade and towards the south on the shortest one. 

images by milena villalba

for their dream family home, the client was looking for three main elements: a large terrace to enjoy the pleasant winters in valencia, a more sheltered and fresh patio, and a large interior space. rather than conform to typical houses of the area, which is known as the valencian orchard, piano piano studio decided to change the order. they built a higher volume at the north, and on the corner towards the south, they created a smaller block that contains the garage and terrace. they kept the central courtyard, which is open to the elements, and built another one, smaller and hidden.

residents enter the house from a crack in the center of the long façade, which leads the eye straight to the courtyard. on the left side of this patio there is an open kitchen and living area while to the right, there is a bedroom. in this way, the courtyard acts as a buffer between social and private space. the bedroom is also linked to a smaller and hidden patio with a fruit tree.

to the farthest right side of the first floor, a stair takes inhabitants to the upper floor. here, there is a large flexible space that can be open or partitioned off depending on changing needs. at the end of the second floor, there is a spacious terrace, which remains hidden from the outside thanks to a brick lattice. the family can enjoy barbecues with friends, a refreshing shower in summer, or an outdoor cinema on the party wall.

with its many courtyards and terraces, la casa del cantó  is a house that looks inwards, but at the same time, wants to connect to everything around it. the house wants to be vernacular. it is aware of the environment, it uses local materials, repeating volumetric forms and a rhythmic façade, which are similar to the adjacent houses. at the same time, it is aware of its contemporariness, but transformed into something more restrained and controlled.

project info:

project name: la casa del cantó

location: foios, valencia, spain

architecture firm: piano piano studio

collaborators: luis ros. (temcco estructuras), ana edo. (technical architect), juanjo ros. (technical architect)

completion date: september 2020

photography: milena villalba

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: lynne myers | designboom