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Architects: PICHARCHITECTS
- Area: 541 m²
- Year: 2006
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Photographs:Simón García
Text description provided by the architects. The Project consists on a set of semi-detached houses located on the edge of the city of Barcelona, bordering Collserola’s natural area.
Three challenges backbone the proposal on the one hand the need for a formal dialogue with an existing house, on the other its integration with the surrounding green space and finally the possibility of incorporating passive and active systems that advance the building’s commitment to environmental sustainability.
The building is arranged over three floors, a basement which consists on parking, storage and facilities, a ground floor where it is distributed the living area and upstairs, where we find the bedrooms and study. The progressive adaptation to the topography allows a close relationship of each floor to the space outside.
The major presence of the houses from the street are four volumes, four modules, autonomous and industrialized. A unique green roof collects the volumetry of the modules. It is these modules that generate and define the interior and exterior space of the home, providing volumetric and spatial complexity as well as providing diverse visuals, both from the exterior and the interior.
The proposal is conceived from the integration of industrial systems assembled, dominated by the large format of the ceramic materials, with continuity from the exterior to the interior of the house.
The entire building has starts out from environmental and sustainability criteria, prioritizing passive behaviour, which allows a reduction of the environmental impact and the energy demand.
Natural cross ventilation are prioritized, in this regard, the interior spaces are designed to facilitate cross ventilation between floors.
Vegetation is integrated in the architecture and it is an essential element in the good climate behaviour of the housing, acts as an element that provides thermal mass as well as a sunscreen and outdoor space that provides a microclimate in the environment of the house.
Water is also a resource that is taken into consideration in the project, rain water is stored on the roof, gray water is treated and used both for irrigation and other uses allowed.