Architects Mariano Molina Iniesta and Juan Pedro Alías Hernández have been in charge of the construction of a single-family home in front of a group of plants and palm trees, from where the Gádor mountain range can be seen in the background, in the Playa Serena Urbanization, located between Roquetas de Mar and Aguadulce, Almería, in Andalusia.

The location of the project stands out for the characteristic landscape formed by the Nuevo Mundo peak, usually snowy during winter, and the perspective formed by the Alboran Sea beach in the Mediterranean Sea. The perception of this perspective is the main axis in the projection of housing.
Single-family home in Aguadulce, designed by architects Mariano Molina Iniesta and Juan Pedro Alías Hernández is a home with a high volume that faces west that dominates the surroundings in practically any direction. The architects used this volume to generate a sequence of spaces, arranged around an open patio, in which daily life takes place. The rest of the spaces are configured on a broken white line that allows midday light to flood these spaces.

Even though it has an exaggerated shape, strategies from the area's traditional architecture are used that are combined with contemporary resources, such as the use of continuous thermal insulation systems on the outside, bioclimatic pergolas, outdoor blinds or the use of renewable energy.


Single-family home in Aguadulce by Mariano Molina Iniesta and Juan Pedro Alías Hernández. Photograph by Alberto Amores.


Single-family home in Aguadulce by Mariano Molina Iniesta and Juan Pedro Alías Hernández. Photograph by Alberto Amores.

 

Description of project by Mariano Molina Iniesta and Juan Pedro Alías Hernández

Placed in front of a green field dotted with palm trees, Sierra de Gádor can be seen in the background, where the peak Nuevo Mundo, usually snowed during the winter, stands out. Immediate and distant surroundings produce in this way a happy combination of landscapes that rarely appear together.

In this light, we proposed the construction of a soaring volume facing west, which not only allows the contemplation of a landscape that becomes especially attractive at dusk but also dominates the environment in almost any direction. It is not, however, an element born out of the indifference to the rest of the house, but on the contrary, the gesture that culminates a sequence of spaces arranged around an open courtyard, where daily life takes place. It thus becomes the last episode of a broken white line, covered with white ceramic, which rises gently, allowing the midday light to flood the kitchen and the hall. A line that suddenly becomes decidedly vertical, to create a vantage point to let the gaze fly.

From the point of view of construction and sustainability, strategies from the traditional architecture of the area are used: predominance of white for its ability to reflect solar radiation, generous overhangs on the facades most exposed to the sun, or arrangement of openings on opposite facades to allow cross ventilation. Regardless of the formal differences, a certain connection is established with the Mediterranean architecture of Almeria. These strategies are combined with contemporary resources, such as the use of continuous thermal insulation systems on the exterior, bioclimatic pergolas, outdoor blinds, or the use of renewable energies that, combined with home automation management tools, allow the inhabitants of the house to adapt lighting and thermal conditions to changing scenarios throughout the day and throughout the year.

More information

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Architects
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Mariano Molina Iniesta and Juan Pedro Alías Hernández.
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Project team
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José Luis Zabala de Lope (architect), Félix Aramburu and Daniel Moreiro (building envelope and MEP design).
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Collaborators
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Enrique Guisado Roca (construction supervisor and health and safety coordinator), Banni (Eva Bergerbusch, Maria Marchiori and Jessi Koldashi, interior design), Obras Fylcon (contractor), Luis Hervás (construction manager), José Hita (construction foreman).
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Area
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419.35 sqm.
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Dates
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Project year.- 2020-2021.
Year of construction.- 2021-2023.
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Location
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Urbanización Playa Serena, Roquetas de Mar, Almeria, Spain.
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Photography
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MMA is an architectural office located in Madrid that provides architectural design services at all scales and consultancy in the conception and calculation of building structures since 2002.

Mariano Molina Iniesta. Architect, graduated from the Technical University of Madrid (UPM) in 1997. PhD architect from UPM since 2015. Obtained the First National Prize of Architecture, awarded by the Spanish Ministry of Education and Culture to the best academic records among graduating students from all schools of architecture in the country. 

Collaborated from 1997 to 2000 at the architectural office of Rafael Moneo Vallés. Received a fellowship from La Caixa to pursue post-professional studies in the US and, as a result of it, obtained a Master degree in Architecture with Distinction at Harvard University, in 2002. 

On completion of this program, he received the Kevin V. Kieran Prize, awarded by the Department of Architecture in recognition of the highest level of academic achievement among students graduating from the post-professional Master in Architecture (MArch II) program at Harvard University. 

Mariano Molina Iniesta works as a freelance architect and structural consultant since 2002, with past and ongoing commissions in Spain, US, Mexico, Morocco and Ethiopia. 

He is currently lecturing at the Institute of Technology, CEU San Pablo University (Escuela Politécnica Superior de la Universidad CEU San Pablo). He has also been a faculty member at the Master’s Program in Building Structures, sponsored by Escuela de la Edificación Foundation and Technical University of Madrid (UPM), between 2004 and 2011.
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Published on: November 28, 2023
Cite: "A habitable landmark. Single-family home in Aguadulce by Mariano Molina Iniesta and Juan Pedro Alías Hernández" METALOCUS. Accessed
<https://www.metalocus.es/en/news/a-habitable-landmark-single-family-home-aguadulce-mariano-molina-iniesta-and-juan-pedro-alias-hernandez> ISSN 1139-6415
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