OOIIO Arquitectura intervenes in a courtyard with a few metres of façade, taking advantage of its geometry to distribute the programme in a functional and efficient way, arranging it in a rectangle in the centre and dividing the plot into two parts, giving rise to two patios, one on each side of the house and turning the main spaces of the interior towards these.
The project is also defined by the roofs, which compress and decompress the space to generate spatial richness in the points where it is most important, such as the living room, kitchen or dining room, where there is more light and height, favouring the relationship of the inhabitants and facilitating coexistence.
In addition, and in order to offer greater comfort, the day areas are separated from the night areas, in addition to spatially, by materials such as ceramics and blue lacquered wood, which are responsible for expressing emotions and creating comfortable home environments full of personality.
Laz House by OOIIO Arquitectura. Photograph by Javier de Paz.
Project description by OOIIO Arquitectura
In rural areas, space is not usually an issue. There are numerous corrals and threshing floors that were once used to store tools or prepare them for fieldwork, store harvested crops, or seeds before planting.
These are large, open spaces, usually enclosed by a wall, with the only connection to the public road being through a wide enough gate for tractors and agricultural vehicles to pass through—before, it was for mules and carts.
If you were lucky, the corral would have a well and simple rooms built with no greater ambition than to shelter all that work equipment when it wasn’t in use.
A family decided to build a contemporary, efficient, and bright house with all modern amenities in one of these now unused corrals, taking advantage of its spaciousness.
The corral had only a few meters of façade, just enough for a gate, but inside it opens up into a large area. The architects chose to distribute the residential layout in a functional and efficient way by placing a rectangle right in the center of the corral, dividing it into two parts.
This created two courtyards, one on each side of the house, providing excellent interior lighting and ventilation.
The architects, drawing inspiration from the local vernacular architecture and reinterpreting the typical porches of the Manchego courtyards, centered the project’s focus there. They designed roofs that embrace these courtyards, creating shade and allowing the outdoor spaces to be inhabited in the same way they always have in these towns—protecting from the intense summer heat and creating shelter and comfort in the winter.
The roofs rise and fall, compressing and decompressing the space to create spatial richness at key points. This is particularly evident in the stunning living area—living room, kitchen, and dining room—which is high and bright, running from one side of the house to the other, and is undoubtedly the most spectacular area of the home.
Functional and pleasant bathrooms and bedrooms are distributed inside, separate from the common daytime area, waiting to offer rest and relaxation to the inhabitants at the end of the day.
Ceramics and blue lacquered wood are the most expressive materials in the project. They are responsible for expressing emotions and creating comfortable home environments, full of their own personality.
