bioclimatic family house by slow studio nestles next to verdant olive grove in spain

Passive house in Pedrezuela

In the Pedrezuela municipality of Madrid, Spain, Slow Studio has designed a passive single-family house for a young couple who wishes to lead a quiet, peaceful life. Thanks to the south orientation of the plot, the design is based on a very simple scheme, a rectangular floor plan in which the spaces follow one another from public to private. The aim of the project is to achieve a house with zero consumption and high health standards through bioclimatic strategies.

south façade

all images by Salva López

an ideal plot in close contact with nature

While speaking with the clients, Slow Studio (find more here) found out that the couple wanted a simple three-bedroom house that meets both their current and future needs in regards to living and teleworking. The occupants wish to live a quiet life, enjoying a home in close contact with nature. This specific site in Pedrezuela is ideal since it borders a beautiful olive grove.

The implementation of the project started from this ideal plot, with an elongated shape facing south and with a slight slope down from the street to a completely flat area where the house was built. The design generates a simple rectangular plot scheme, where each room presents itself right after the other, from more public to more private. The spaces are divided by a courtyard that improves natural lighting and ventilation.

pergola

passive thermal performance

Since the west side of the structure faces the house of the neighbor directly, the design team decided to position the parking lot in this orientation, separated from the house but incorporating an accessible pergola. The south façade is protected by a vegetal pergola that helps to increase privacy and acts as a natural sunlight regulator.

One of the key points of the bioclimatic strategy is the fact that all the rooms, both common areas, and bedrooms, have a rigorous south orientation, allowing for an excellent passive thermal performance of all living spaces. ‘We take advantage of the heat gains that we get thanks to large openings to the south, which accumulate in inertia walls and whose temperature we maintain thanks to excellent exterior insulation.’ Slow Studio shares. ‘On the north side, on the other hand, we need a thermal cushion to protect us from the coldest facade.’ To achieve this, the team located the service spaces such as bathrooms and the installations room on the north side and generated a very opaque facade with few openings that are protected with wooden slatted shutters for privacy reasons only.

Since the plot enjoys ample sunlight, the need to control it during the different seasons emerged. For this reason, Slow Studio installed a pergola that covers the entire length of the south side and that will be protected with deciduous vegetation and simple wooden roller shutters. In the summer, the vegetation covers the upper part of the pergola. In addition, the roller shutters roll down, blocking the sun but ensuring sufficient natural ventilation complemented by an improved thermal sensation that is achieved thanks to the vegetation. In the winter, the trees lose their leaves and allow heat to permeate the residence.

In terms of construction, the house has a double brick wall with insulation between layers and an inverted roof. The carpentries are made of wood, as well as the kitchen and bathroom furniture. For the installations, a biomass boiler is used to generate hot water for the kitchen and bathrooms and an air renewal system is installed by means of a heat recovery system.

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