house with two wings by sol89 embraces complex terrain in spain

sol89 arquitectos completes house with two wings in spain

Photographed by Fernando Alda, House with Two Wings nestles at the base of a hill in Southern Spain‘s Sanlúcar de Barrameda, a city in the Cádiz province. The plot also reveals a slope facing the distant mouth of the Guadalquivir River, creating a truly scenic setting. Local studio Sol89 Arquitectos completed the residence for a couple, Nuria and Manuel, who moved from the North in pursuit of the country’s Southern air and sunlight. Their ultimate wish was to build a medium-sized, one-story house that invites a certain independence between its different rooms: those to be used daily and those reserved for guests, family, and work.

all images © Fernando Alda

creating a single-story residence with two independent wings

Responding to its clients’ wishes, Sol89 Arquitectos (see more here) envisioned House with Two Wings as holding two distinct programs: everyday living spaces and less frequently used areas. ‘These spaces can coexist in proximity but do not necessarily need direct connections’, explain lead architects Maria González and Juanjo López de la Cruz. This approach allows the program to fragment and articulate through outdoor spaces.

As a result, the proposed residence is welcoming and accessible, in continuous contact with the earth, expanding and incorporating the gaps between the constructed parts. The interior uses are divided into two wings, one facing west towards the Guadalquivir River and the other facing east towards the olive grove at the back of the property. These two wings unfold to embrace as much space as possible. ‘The project explores the notion of span versus size: a modestly sized house that, by separating the wings, covers much more space than it occupies,’ continue the architects.

House with Two Wings by Sol89 Arquitectos

embracing the sloped terrain & framing the Guadalquivir River

Most of the new houses in the vicinity have a single platform to tame the slope, placing a single volume on it. This erases the footprint of the land, and from the approach at the foot of the slope, the dwellings appear overly imposing. In this case, House with Two Wings reveals and celebrates the terrain on which it stands. The initial action involves establishing three successive terraced levels that adapt to the land’s profile. The highest level accommodates two rooms for sporadic use, each opening to a courtyard. Next, a lower platform houses a winding courtyard that serves as the access point to different rooms and the daily living area. This space extends onto a terrace, shielded by climbing plants, which doubles the interior space and expands it toward the horizon. Finally, Sol89 Arquitectos placed at the lowest level a swimming pool, meeting the terrain and following the direction towards the river.

the residence nestles at the base of a hill in Southern Spain’s Sanlúcar de Barrameda

The stepped terraces and the volumes housing the program follow two different construction logics. The terraces result from a base adapted to the topography, where horizontal floors and vertical walls are made from in-situ concrete. This molded floor reconciles the land with the house and tames the earth. On top of it, three white volumes appear, constructed with load-bearing ceramic walls and external insulation; these evoke an essential lintel-based construction, their height reduced through flat sections to create more inviting intermediate spaces between them. In addition to the two volumes holding the daily living area and the sporadically used rooms, a third volume housing the bathroom extends over the access courtyard and rotates in relation to the parallel alignment of the terraces. This introduces a distortion in the plan, influenced by the views towards the Guadalquivir River.

This alteration of the established geometric order adds tension to the entrance of the house and shields the views towards the back of the access courtyard. A wall built at the edge of the terraces modulates the views outward, emphasizing the distant river view, protecting from immediate neighbors, and enhancing the intermediate spaces, which become outdoor rooms sheltered from the Cadiz winds and southern sun. Finally, the outer house envelops the inner house, blurring the boundaries between domestic space and the outdoors, facilitated by a pleasant climate where inside and outside merge. Discover Fernando Alda‘s extensive documentation of House with Two Wings, below.

three white volumes appear, constructed with load-bearing ceramic walls