Light, patio, air. Conil home suit by kauh

Description of project by KAUH

Located in a neighborhood that grew over the course of the second half of the 20th century between the historic center and the beach, this building results from working with the context, integrating and questioning the spatialities, atmospheres and forms of inhabitation of the place. It is a free interpretation of the architecture of the town, the surviving vernacular examples, those that remain in our memories and that which is to come. 

With the patio as the starting point, the typology is experimented with in order to liken temporary accommodations to the idea of a house, in which fluidity and the relaxation of the limits between the outside and the inside construct the spatial and atmospheric conditions. In this sense, the exterior rooms are enhanced—patio, entrance, galleries and terrace, as well as their relationship with the units, the street and the dense roofscape. Transitions from the outside to the inside and the sequence of open spaces organize the layout of the building, providing a continuity to its section as it is traversed, beginning on the street, from which the interior is glimpsed, to the entryway, through the patio up until the terrace where it becomes air and participates of the dense roofscape. These outdoor areas are intertwined with the eight lodgings—six studios and two apartments. The user can decide on the quality of the relationship between the units and the exterior by controlling levels of transparency of the large openings thanks to the layering of the curtains, ranging from total exposure to complete isolation.

At an urban level, the piece is proportioned to fit into the domestic scale of the neighborhood, in essence materializing as a volume of smooth, delineated planes with a forceful curved chamfer highlighting its presence along the street. This curve recovers, in a more emphatic gesture, a formal resource that was used in the first buildings erected in the area which had gradually fallen out of use.

In what is also a commitment to craftsmanship, the use of a timeless and universal pattern that is open to interpretations—scale, wave, roof tile, fan, leaf— plays a crucial role through the diverse material and construction qualities it provides. It is materialized in ceramics of several sizes and finishes and in the artisanal railings and grilles manufactured by a local blacksmith. These create a range of experiences through the way they shine and reflect light, the way they cast shadows on flat on curved surfaces, or thanks to their texture and tone, all effects that are hallmarks of the architecture of these latitudes. Hence, the infinite possibilities of the color white, blended with the powerful bright light of the Atlantic in Cádiz as it plays with these restrained volumes, emphasize everything that this building strives to become.

This commission was all-embracing, taking the main design concepts all the way down to the last detail through bespoke furniture and choice of textiles, the gardening scheme and the incorporation of specific art pieces. From the fountain in the exuberant patio to the architectural garden of the terrace, from the furniture that mixes the use of wood, steel and marble to the collection of original postcards of the town from the 1960s and 70s or the range of beach inspired textiles, a universe of experiences is created. Among all of the elements that accompany the architecture, a series of pieces stand out created specifically by the ceramist Enrique Carrillo: four plates which, straddling between the notion of souvenir and epigraph, articulate the design's concepts through well-known verses to the light of Cádiz.