Project description by Solano & Catalán Architects
What are the invariant characteristics in Mediterranean vernacular architecture? Which of these make sense today? What questions should a project that is located on the coast address? What relationship exists between topography, views and the sea? ?
These are some of the questions on which the project reflects, the main objective of which is to respond, with simplicity and economy of means, to the committed mission of building a collective housing complex on a slope that descends gently towards the coast.
The fragmented volume to be built is formed from a geometry based on five factors.
Homes facing the Mediterranean by Solano & Catalán Arquitectos. Photography by Solano & Catalán Arquitectos.
Build the perimeter of the plot. Collective housing
Collective housing reaches its maximum expression when it proposes a collective space and is not limited exclusively to the mere stacking of private housing units. In this case, the decision is made to build and densify the margins of the plot, adapting the shape of the building to the perimeter and freeing up a large central common space, providing this space with the best views over the sea.
Building rotation. Orientation towards the sea
The building is turned to face the South, adapting to the perimeter of the plot and thus allowing the volume to look towards the sea, above the common space and other adjacent buildings.
Plant staggering. Creating new views and urban response
A staggered plan is established that allows the planes on which the terraces are arranged to maintain a certain privacy with respect to each other. With this staggering and rotation, the building responds to the urban dimension (adhering to the perimeter of the plot), the collective dimension (leaving a large collective area in the center for the enjoyment of users) and the private dimension (generating privacy, with typical resources of the compact Mediterranean city, in the homes).
Homes facing the Mediterranean by Solano & Catalán Arquitectos. Photography by Solano & Catalán Arquitectos.
Structure and flights. Open and sunny terraces
In the Mediterranean climate, outdoor spaces constitute a natural extension of the home for most of the year. In order to generate open and sunny terrace spaces in each of the homes, the slabs of the different floors fly in different directions, always with spans of less than 1.80 meters, and without altering the design of the vertical structure, which which allows the use of simple and economical structures despite the apparent spatial complexity.
Stepping in section. Adaptation to the slope
Finally, the module whose geometry has been generated based on the four previous factors adapts to the slope by staggering one floor. The broken plane of each floor continues with that of the upper floor of the next module, generating a rich geometry that is both repeated and variable.
