Monasterios House / Antonio Altarriba Arquitectos

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Text description provided by the architects. The house is located in “Los Monasterios” residential area, by the Calderona mountains, in Valencia, Spain. The plot is placed in a high position and there are sea views everywhere.  The plot faces houses to the north and west sides, the mountain to the east side and the great sea views and Valencia’s gulf to the south.

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The house emerges from the mountain where it is placed as a bunch of stone volumes.

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The main entrance of the plot is placed in the north-east corner, the highest spot.  A granite tile’s path leads the visitor to the main entrance of the house, delimited by vegetation and stone volumes.

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One of the principal targets of the project is the contrast between the north façade and the main entrance of the house. While the north façade is massive and tectonic, the entrance hall is light and illuminated. The hall is a triple-height space and there is a big window facing the main door, so the breathtaking views are present from the entrance door.

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At this moment the house composition is easy to understand: compact volumes in the north and west sides, an open façade orientated south facing the sea, and the east façade with some openings facing the mountain. The main objective is to have views to the sea and the mountain all the time.

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The entrance hall is the virtual axis of the house: it is a triple-height space where the staircase is located. Besides, it is the link of the three floors of the house, which is distributed from this point. There is a big window by the staircase, so the sea views are present all the time. This space is also connected to the big front terrace where the infinity pool is placed.

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The distribution is easy: day-activities rooms placed in the ground floor and night-activities rooms in the upper floor. Living room, dining room, kitchen, laundry room, toilet and office are located in the ground floor. Three double bedrooms, one bathroom, master bedroom with bathroom and dressing room facing the mountain and the sea in the upper floor.

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There is a big beam in the south side, used to join the volumes in compositional terms. This beam is also used to bear the terrace ceiling and it gives privacy to the bedrooms, despite the fact that all of them have a façade made out of a big window.

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The basement has a guest bedroom with bathroom, big playroom,  cinema room, wine cellar and garage with  box room and toilet.

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