Paz & Comedias House / Ramon Esteve

Curated by ArchDaily

Architects: Ramon Esteve
Area: 886 m²
Year: 2010
Photographs:Jonathan Segade, Christoph Kicherer para Bul- thaup
Construction Company: Inrem S.A.

Paz & Comedias House / Ramon Esteve - Windows — © Christoph Kicherer para Bul- thaup

Text description provided by the architects. A mountain landscape, with big stone retaining walls, is the origin of the design of the layout of this house. Located in a housing state in Sagunto, Valencia, at the base of the Calderona Range, the Paz & Comedias House is fully integrated with its envi- ronment by reusing the red sandstone, extracted while opening the foundations, in the masonry walls.

Paz & Comedias House / Ramon Esteve - Brick, Garden — Courtesy of Ramón Esteve

Thus, the walls that arrange the spaces are parallels to each other and perpendicu- lar to the mountain slope. Together with the stone, this merges the house with the landscape.

Paz & Comedias House / Ramon Esteve - Windows, Facade — © Christoph Kicherer para Bul- thaup

Wide glass panes encloses the stone walls, allowing total transparency between the mountain and the valley and emphasising the massiveness of the walls.

Eastwards, the views become wider towards the sea. On this façade, the main element is the balcony of the main bedroom. A balcony that hangs really high, offering a great feeling of weightlessness and broad views of the landscape.

On the contrary, the western side of the house is limited by an intimate space, obtained by separating the house from the mountain. The stone walls work here as buttresses and create a courtyard that acts as a filter between the house and the landscape. This exterior space links the previous dwelling to its extension and becomes the lobby for the homeowner’s art gallery. Due to this, the most private parts of the house and its circulation are laid out in this zone.

Paz & Comedias House / Ramon Esteve - Brick, Stairs — Courtesy of Ramón Esteve

Inside the house, the main feature is the fluid connection between spaces. The use of few materials and elements, such as the arrangement of the walls and the glass openings, contributes to a clear continuity between rooms. Grey Ulldecona stone is used for the pavement and also for the bathroom counters; the colour of the external carpentry made of laminated iroko wood tunes with the red sandstone walls; interior walls and furniture in white complete a quiet and fluid atmosphere.

Paz & Comedias House / Ramon Esteve - Shelving, Chair — Courtesy of Ramón Esteve

Finally, a house where an exact use of colours and materials and a precise geometry are combined to form a great watchtower, subtly and austerely integrated into the landscape.