estudio albar envelops casa eñe with cork for net-zero living in madrid

a modern and natural passive house created by Estudio Albar

In a tranquil residential neighborhood, a mere half-hour from Madrid’s city center, Estudio Albar has built Casa Eñe, a contemporary house with a focus on sustainability and energy efficiency. The user’s brief called for a dwelling that embodies Nearly Zero Energy Consumption and minimal environmental impact, achieving Passive House certification. Thus, to meet the client’s requirements, the architects chose a wooden structure with an industrialized cork exterior and wooden windows, all while prioritizing comfort and minimalist aesthetics for its occupants.

all images by Imagen Subliminal (Miguel de Guzmán + Rocío Romero)

architectural design and integration with nature

Within a 1,800 square-meter property with slight elevation variation, Casa Eñe extends as a rectangular box, facing a large holm oak tree at its center. To the north, a 55-meter-long green wall made of Arizonica trees conceals a lush park stretching into the distant mountains, replete with holm oaks, rockroses, and junipers. To integrate the greenery into the property, the team at Estudio Albar removed the lush wall, making the house part of the park and connecting it to its natural environment. Spanning 40 meters long and 6 meters wide, the house features large square windows on its main facades, providing views of the landscape to the north and welcoming sunlight from the south. The two smaller facades, on the other hand, remain solid and unadorned.

the structure embraces the views to the north and captures the sun to the south

inside minimalist casa eñe

Inside this structure, a 250-square-meter housing program unfolds with no fixed walls along the perimeter, allowing for a seamless flow throughout the house. Atop this structure, a separate pavilion designated for the parents’ professional office offers two windows facing north and the setting sun. This pavilion intentionally isolates itself from the family garden below by remaining closed off to the south. Casa Eñe’s interior is completed with pine wood carpentry, cork sourced from holm oaks in Badajoz and Portugal, continuous natural lime floors, and partition walls adorned with natural oak veneered wooden panels. These elements come together to create a comfortable and straightforward living space in the Sierra de Madrid, emphasizing sustainability and integration with the natural surroundings.

the structure takes the form of a 40-meter-long and 6-meter-wide rectangular box