Aljibe House by Alejandro Valdivieso

Description of the project by Alejandro Valdivieso

The property is part of a low-density suburban setting and belongs to a characteristic pattern of peripheral development of the first third of the twentieth century: summer colonies of the Madrid mountains. typical scrubland, but increased with non-native species compatible, condiciondas by dry continental climate of the area (very hot summers and very cold winters).

It was initially an underground cistern connected to a well that supplied the original main house of the property, with a casual plant because, surely, finding the best compromise between rocky conformations. The slope of the land led to its south face partially emerge and take the image of a strong retaining wall limiting, on this side, an upper platform paved in which, in turn, the wellhead is emplaced and used as estancial area and occasionally as a space for celebrations. When the tank failed to fulfill its function, it became used as a warehouse, storage and warehousing of all kinds of objects, without further adaptation that opening access: An opening in the wall. Its interior was completely constructive configuration then sight. This was the first reappropriation. But the place continued to maintain its original character as a disposable outer space, hiding, underground, warehouse.

The final reappropriation occurs with the adaptation of the place to resolve the request. the immediate surroundings are not modified or altered toponymy of the place, on the contrary, pre-existing conditions are accepted as guidelines path (the curve of the glass facade is the same as before marking a step on the stone pavement to keep). On the old platform perched object one progresses in flight over the vacuum produced by the uneven terrain appears. The lower ground level is lowered slightly to, with the help of a new enclosure wall, build a porch and outside the scope of the stone platform is now, both exterior and interior. The upper floor of the house occupies the new building volume through a prefabricated system based wood paneling counter-laminated spruce, cut in workshop and assembled on site on a new metal structure that does not interfere structurally with the existing composite stone, brick and concrete. Forms a large open space that functions as stay (living-dining-kitchen), communicating with the common house garden farm. The lower floor partially buried, welcomes stays privacy and seclusion, fragmented open spaces to an English courtyard and an `ex-novo', artificial garden in contrast to the large existing garden.

The design of the envelope of the new volume, with a high degree of thermal insulation, following a distribution of blind / open floor plans that optimizes natural lighting and natural ventilation cross (in response to a targeted and overlapping geometry on existing vegetation and the new exterior landscaping as conditioner passive summer / winter), with the conditions that are peculiar to the existing volume of the tank (massiveness, natural ventilation, distribution of hollow and solid, partially buried spaces or "cave effect"), reinforces the plantemiento energy house primarily based on passive measures.