The color red has various connotations: energy, action, presence, revolution, intense emotions... This house next to the San Juan reservoir, in Cebreros, Ávila, brings together many of them. The house descends in steps between trees, on a steep terrain, with a dynamic spirit and, at a certain moment, it seems to stop to contemplate the hypnotic sheet of water of the swamp. It is a lookout house and, at the same time, a refuge surrounded by nature.
Preserving the original atmosphere of the pine forest and the topography of the land were the key principles of the project for the architectural team that signed this vacation home. Formed by María Hurtado de Mendoza, César Jiménez de Tejada and Álvar Ruiz, from Estudio Entresitio, they wanted to respect the ecosystem of the swamp and its surrounding vegetation, proposing a minimally invasive architecture, which maintains the trees and its wild nature. To do this, they resorted to the concept of stilt architecture, raising it on piles driven into the ground, which barely touch the ground.
The future inhabitants of the house, a family with four children, made a single request: that the construction be made of wood. The research on architecture done with this material led the authors of the project to Sweden, also due to family ties. There, and specifically in the town of Falun, where there were formerly copper mines, the mineral shavings were used to prepare facade paint, as they discovered that it protected the wood from xylophages and aging in the sun. "Its use spread throughout the country," the Entresitio studio explains. "All the wood in Sweden is painted with Falun Red paint. After seeing many red houses, the idea was installed in the project and the clients really liked it."
Of all the attributes of red, the Entresitio team chooses its resounding presence. “But integrated into the environment,” they add. Contrary to what it may seem, the red color blends quite well with the tones of the pine bark, the dry needles, the earth... In the distant view from the swamp, the house goes very unnoticed.
As the steep slope of the plot is maintained, access to the house is from the top and rear. The 20 m difference in level between the highest point and the water of the reservoir has been bridged by several volumes of similar size, at different heights. Among the trees, they open through large windows to intertwine with the pine forest. The exterior of the house has been conceived as a continuous skin of wood, painted red. “The resulting volume – they point out – acquires quality thanks to its skin, which as such, wraps and protects the house. And it becomes permeable to capture light and vision when necessary.”
With an area of almost 350 square meters, the building is spread over three staggered levels. The living room and kitchen area is located on the intermediate level, between that of the parents and that of their offspring. In this way, it provides privacy for both parties, although they are easily connected to the exterior and common areas.
Although the geometry of the building looks rigorous from the front, its authors specify that the foreshortened view blurs it. In addition to the windows that provide views of the reservoir, there are additional glazings that close the stairs on the side. “Spatially speaking,” they point out, “from the inside the enclosures connect with each other, producing unexpected visions. This idea is reinforced by the decomposition of the 'boxes' with the color planes. The result is an amalgam in which the geometry is not clearly recognized.”
Living in a house is also going through it. To enrich experiences and possibilities, three types of circulation have been conceived. One is exterior, starting at the highest level at street level and passing through the terraces, located on the roofs of each volume, forming a set of platforms interconnected by outdoor stairs. The interior route links the rooms through two stairs located next to the exterior ones. The third circulation is the most unusual: it connects the inhabitants directly with the land on which their house stands and allows them to travel transversely underneath, or access a higher level.
The preservation of the environment and the pine forest, as well as the uniqueness of the project, has earned Estudio Entresitio – an office with double headquarters in Madrid and New York – the recent award for this work with the Spanish Architecture Prize, from the Superior Council of Schools. of Architects of Spain (CSCAE).
