Project description by Rodrigo Núñez Carrasco, Nazareth Gutiérrez Franco and Juan Carrascosa Guardia
The project has been defined with two fundamental objectives, on the one hand, its landscape integration in an environment as cared for as that of Garralda and the Aézcoa valley, and, on the other, to achieve the maximum housing quality of the proposed homes.
After analyzing the archetypal features of the traditional Basque-Navarrese farmhouse, it was decided to divide the required program into two volumes, with steeply pitched roofs, and arranged in opposite directions to favor dialogue with their surroundings. In addition, the choice of materials is sensitive to the place, resorting to typical materials such as white mortar on facades and wood on roofs and shutters, recovering and reinterpreting the use of wood tiles typical of the area. The finish of the roof and the shutters of the galleries are arranged in continuity, giving the proposal its own identity. This reinterpretation of the archetype of the hamlet allows the link between the proposal and the collective memory of the place.
4 VPO by Rodrigo Núñez Carrasco, Nazareth Gutiérrez Franco, Juan Carrascosa Guardia. Photograph by Alberto Amores.
In addition, the houses are designed with criteria of maximum flexibility favoring different ways of living. The cross-laminated wood structure is limited to the façade and partitions with common elements, favoring interior transformations. All the houses are accessible for inhabitants with reduced mobility, and have been designed with sustainable criteria (Passivhaus standard). The size of the lighting holes and the use of large terraces also allow a link with the landscape from the inside, reinforcing the feeling of belonging to the place, as well as improving the quality of life provided by the homes.
