Casas Jano is a project that consists of two single-family homes that have been developed in collaboration by Jaime Prous Architects and Pineda Monedero. The plot is located in an urbanization still under development on the outskirts of a town in the Girona region, in Spain.

The project presents two homes that face opposite sides, creating together two heights on a cross-shaped floor plan inscribed in the square that occupies the plot, that enhances diagonal connections with the outside. The union of the two homes forms a single volume of changing facades thanks to the position of the windows, whose composition generates different expressions for the viewer depending on their position.
The project designed by Jaime Prous Architects and Pineda Monedero is located in the designated areas on the lower floor. The exterior spaces marked by an extension of the structure, appear at further cost as a continuation of exterior living conditions. On the high floor of the living spaces there are spaces that do not allow different uses where they normally serve sleeping areas.

The set presents a manual eyeshadow fachada that relates to the hormigón structure which is reflected by a very well-held colored palette. The project cannot be seen in an eclectic landscape of materials and ambient volumes.


Jano houses by Jaime Prous Architects + Pineda Monedero. Photograph by Jose Hevia.
 

Project description by Jaime Prous Architects + Pineda Monedero

The setting in which these semi-detached houses are located is that of an anonymous neighbourhood on the outskirts of a town near Girona. The finished streets await the arrival of the future houses that will form an eclectic landscape of different materials and volumes.

Each house faces opposite sides and is joins the other from the back like Janus, the two-faced god. This union is read as a single two-storey volume in the shape of a cross. The cross is inscribed in a square that encompasses the house and two exterior spaces framed by the exposed concrete structure.


Jano houses by Jaime Prous Architects + Pineda Monedero. Photograph by Jose Hevia.

The construction aims to approach the materiality with frankness by exposing the concrete structure and the manual brick façade. A very subdued colour palette is used to tone down the high-flown tone of the surroundings and go unnoticed. The windows are placed in such a way as to compose 4 changing façades, generating different expressions depending on the position of the observer.

From the inside, these openings allow diagonal views across the exterior spaces. The cross-shaped geometry increases the corners and embraces the future pergolas. On the upper floor it allows the creation of spacious rooms without hierarchies that allow for different uses.

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Architects
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Collaborators
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Structure.- OtherStructures.
Installations.- Ordeic.
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Contractor
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Construccions Busquets.
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Location
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Girona, Spain.
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Photography
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Jaime Prous Architects. Studio founded in 2015 in Barcelona by Jaime Prous. Its work includes residential, commercial and public facility projects, developed both through private commissions and public competitions. The studio has received several distinctions, including the FAD Award 2017, the Bulthaup Awards 2020, the Prize Winners Architecture 2021, as well as recognitions in the 2023 Premis d’Arquitectura de les Comarques de Girona and the 2023 CSCAE Awards. Its production is characterised by a rigorous approach to materiality and constant attention to context, scale and the user experience.
 
Jaime Prous. Architect by ETSAB (2006). He began his professional career in the office of Francisco and Damián Ribas before establishing his own studio. His works focus mainly on residential programmes and public facilities, with projects that incorporate a precise reading of place and an ongoing technical exploration. He has combined professional practice with teaching and research; he is co-author of the essay Deep Skin and a Technology professor at ETSAV. Born in Barcelona, he incorporates international influences derived from his travels, integrating them into a personal and coherent design approach.
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Pineda Monedero is a Barcelona-based architecture studio founded by Àlex Pineda and Antón Monedero in 2020. It is a young studio with extensive individual experience, both nationally and internationally.

Context, containment, and contrast are echoed in their creative process. They approach the design of their commissions as objects defined in relation to their surroundings. Each project is based on constant exploration and the pursuit of an optimized result.

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Published on: May 1, 2024
Cite:
metalocus, FRANCISCO LANCHAS MORA
"Homes with different visions. Jano houses by Jaime Prous Architects + Pineda Monedero" METALOCUS. Accessed
<https://www.metalocus.es/en/news/homes-different-visions-jano-houses-jaime-prous-architects-pineda-monedero> ISSN 1139-6415
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