Text description provided by the architects. The Project requested consists of a private home located in one of the suburban areas of the city of Valencia, in a lot of 3.020
square meters, with a steep topography which leaves the lot with a difference of 15 meters high, from street level, up to the back of the lot, colliding against the foot of a hill. The challenge of the Project is to design a House for an elderly couple, one of them suffering from Alzheimer’s; which demands precise spatial conditions to facilitate the domestic routine for its inhabitants.
These premises, determine the location of the house on the highest point of the topography, allowing the design to consist of only one story, but with the best possible views caught from the back of the lot, and absorbing the difference of levels between the street entrance and the house, through a series of terraces surrounding the house at the back.
The house, located above the main terrace, behaves as a great frame which holds underneath, the bedrooms and resting spaces towards the North side facing the hill, and exhibiting towards the view of the city (South) the social and recreational areas.
From the entrance at street level, until the main entrance of the House, the way up is along a street way for the vehicle. The drive towards the house, borders the terraces on its way up, gradually discovering the great frame from one of its sides; sitting on top of the final terrace. The main entrance to the house is finally discovered on its discrete North façade, facing the hill behind the parking area.
The walkthrough of the house has two different perceptions, as a visitor and as a dweller. As a dweller of the house, the path throughout the house is understood to be organized along a lengthwise axis, which connects the serving areas with the resting areas. While, as a visitor, the house welcomes you through a transversal axis which directs towards the living room and on to the garden from where you can immediately appreciate the South façade once again from the outside and finally discover the broad view of the landscape of the city, from the top of this hill.
