House on the air, the single-family home designed by Fran Silvestre Arquitectos, is located in Zahara de los Atunes, a coastal town bordering the Atlantic Ocean and belonging to the province of Cádiz.

The word "Zahara" comes from the Arabic Sahara and could be translated as rocky place. The proposed architecture is simple so that the observer can delight in the colors of the sky that appear at sunrise and sunset in front of the sea.

Fran Silvestre Arquitectos project House on the air as an architectural element deposited in the environment, generating a gray base simulating the stones of the place, which allows the home to be placed at the necessary level to ensure the views and the setting sun.

The house is distributed, generating a patio in the back, which allows shelter when the Tarifa wind is extreme and gives access to the rooms with complementary uses to the main house. The upper floor is divided into three spaces. In the central one, the day area is configured as a thorough room without any structural elements between the northeast, where the sunset is observed, and the southeast. At the ends are the night areas, offering privacy to the main space.


House on the air by Fran Silvestre Arquitectos. Photograph by Fernando Guerra.

Description of project by Fran Silvestre Arquitectos

Zahara de los Atunes is one of those places where the ordinary becomes exceptional. Every day has its sunrise and sunset, but the way it happens in this unique place is difficult to describe.

With this starting point, the architecture is arranged almost like a mechanism to protect ourselves while capturing the spectacle offered by our surroundings.


House on the air by Fran Silvestre Arquitectos. Photograph by Fernando Guerra.

Due to its sloping terrain, the structure appears as a piece of architecture deposited in the environment. The site is prepared with a sort of foundation made from the grey tonality of the stones found in the surroundings; in fact, the name Zahara comes from the Arabic Sahara, which could be translated as a "rocky place". This foundation allows the house to be settled at the necessary level to ensure the view of the sunset reflection in the surface of the Atlantic Ocean. At the opposite side, we find a quiet courtyard that provides shelter for the strong winds of Tarifa, this courtyard also leads to the complementary rooms of the house. As if the upper floor was dropped over the plinth, the residence is divided into three areas. The main area is the living room. Entirely passing between the northwest, where the magical sunset takes place, and the southeast where no structural element interferes with the interior space and the landscape. On both sides are the night areas with the same orientation. This arrangement balances the structure and gives privacy to the main room.

A simple architecture embedded in a place where any sensitive observer will be able to enjoy all the colours.

More information

Label
Architects
Text
Fran Silvestre Arquitectos. Lead architects.- Fran Silvestre, Estefania Soriano, Carlos Lucas.
+ + copy Created with Sketch.
- + copy Created with Sketch.
Label
Project team Design team
Text
María Masià | Principal in charge, Pablo Camarasa | Collaborating Architect, Ricardo Candela | Collaborating Architect, Sevak Asatrián | Principal in charge, José María Ibañez | Business Developer CCG and Mexico, Jose Manuel Arnao | Collaborating Architect, Andrea Baldo | Collaborating Architect, Paloma Feng | | Collaborating Architect, Javi Herrero | Collaborating Architect, Paco Chinesta | Principal in charge, Gino Brollo | Collaborating Architect , Angelo Brollo | Collaborating Architect , Anna Alfanjarín | Collaborating Architect, Laura Bueno | Collaborating Architect, Toni Cremades | Collaborating Architect , David Cirocchi | Collaborating Architect, MArch Architecture and Design, Gabriela Schinzel | Collaborating Architect, MArch Architecture and Design, Nuria Doménech | Collaborating Architect, Andrea Raga | Collaborating Architect, Olga Martín | Collaborating Architect, Víctor González | Collaborating Architect, MArch Architecture and Design, Pepe Llop | Collaborating Architect, Alberto Bianchi | Collaborating Architect, Lucía Domingo | Collaborating Architect, Alejandro Pascual | Collaborating Architect, Pablo Simò | Collaborating Architect, Ana de Pablo | Financial Manager, Sara Atienza | Marketing and Communication Department, Valeria Fernandini | Financial Department, Sandra Mazcuñán | Management Department, Kateryna Spuziak | Marketing Department, Julián Garcia | Graphic Designer.
+ + copy Created with Sketch.
- + copy Created with Sketch.
Label
Collaborators
Text
Interior design.- Alfaro Hofmann.
Partner studio.- Yunestortolero.
Buinding engineer consultants.- Francisco José Jiménes Jiménes.
Structural engineers.- Estructuras Singulares.
+ + copy Created with Sketch.
- + copy Created with Sketch.
Label
Builder
Text
Atlanterra Proyectos.
+ + copy Created with Sketch.
- + copy Created with Sketch.
Label
Area
Text
400 sqm.
+ + copy Created with Sketch.
- + copy Created with Sketch.
Label
Location
Text
Tarifa, Cadiz, Andalusia, Spain.
+ + copy Created with Sketch.
- + copy Created with Sketch.
Label
Manufacturers
Text
MEP.- Hitachi (air conditioning), Mecanismos Jung zero (mechanisms), Luminaria lineal led (Lighting, coves in false ceiling).
Finishes.- Porcelanosa (paving, large format porcelain), Porcelanosa (pool), Joan Pedro Sacedón, Paul Neauh (landscape design), Solid Surface Krion, Panelado Madera Lacada, Sika (facing).
Metalwork and Locksmithing.- Custom wood interior carpentry, IMG Windows (exterior, minimalist aluminum carpentry).
Interior furniture.- Custom-made lacquered wooden furniture.
Kitchen.- Porcelanosa, serie Emotions (kitchen and laundry), Sensem (pivot doors).
+ + copy Created with Sketch.
- + copy Created with Sketch.
Label
Photography
Text
Fotography.- Fernando Guerra.
Video.- Jesús Orrico.
+ + copy Created with Sketch.
- + copy Created with Sketch.

Fran Silvestre Arquitectos is a studio based in Valencia made up a multidisciplinary group of architects founded in 2005 by architect Fran Silvestre. Fran Silvestre (born 5 July 1976) is a Spanish architect. After having graduated in Architecture at the Escuela Técnica Superior de Arquitectura de Valencia in 2001, he specialized in urban planning at the Technische Universiteit Eindhoven a year later. Then, he won a scholarship to work at the studio of the Pritzker Prize architect from Portugal, Alvaro Siza, which is located in Oporto, and have ever since undertaken projects in cooperation with him. He is also dedicated to teach as professor at the Universidad Politecnica de Valencia since 2006, and the Universidad Europea since 2009.

Influenced by the above mentioned architect, Alvaro Siza, or the sculptor Andreu Alfaro, among others, the studio realizes series of projects that take into account factors such as, modulation, serialization or light. Thus, giving rise to buildings of high purity, using constant innovative materials and technologies. Since its foundation, it has focused on the developement and implementation of small-scale projects, for instance, The Atrium House (2009) or the House at the mountainside of a Castle (2010). It also carries out multidisciplinary work while designing objects like the Alis chair, collaborating with other studios such as Alfaro Hofmann, which is dedicated to interior design.

Read more
Published on: October 26, 2023
Cite: "Focus at sunset. House on the air by Fran Silvestre Arquitectos" METALOCUS. Accessed
<https://www.metalocus.es/en/news/focus-sunset-house-air-fran-silvestre-arquitectos> ISSN 1139-6415
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...