An elongated single family house acts as a fortress in a small village Alosno, Spain, but its tough and rigid appearance shouldn't misguide visitors - it takes owners and visitors into a flexible and free space with circular openings defining courtyards of the building.

Designed by Studio Wet, the house is located in Alosno, a small village in "Andévalo", a subregion of the Province of Huelva in the southwest of Spain. The house, called Casa Borrero, is only a single story building and attached to the existing houses within the city fabric.

The site is known for a special type of Flamenco music called Fandango, world-famous charcuterie Jamón Ibérico, and close proximity to the mines of Tharsis, and thus to its English colonial architecture. In this context, the architects were commissioned to design a single family house, described as "traditional" by their clients.

The studio was requested to  design an extremely compartmentalized plan, including a free-standing garage and a single-story house given on a 7 x 40-meter plot. 

"This was again a good opportunity to approach these contingencies with a certain level of critical pragmatism, as we often term our approach, beyond the cliches that we all bring to the design table," said Studio Wet.

The architects decided to use a traditional concept as applied to the pure construction techniques, using a system of load-bearing brick walls parallels to the façade, a traditional system they do not typically use. 

This bearing wall system allowed the architects to turn the tide, and to transfer the main façade from the short length to the long side of 40 meters. One single family house, with a single space in between bearing walls, and covered by a single pitch roof spanning from 6,5 to 7,5 meter along the 40 meters length.

The residential program is displayed along with rooms aligned to the new main façade, whilst the garage occupies the former main façade, at the opposite side of an intermediate courtyard that serves as the main entrance. Although it was necessary to split the garage from the rest of the residence, one of our design goals was to promote a unified perception for the bulk of the house.

The studio used the same intention on the façade to rhythmically shape the outer face with curves, in a way to hold better, aesthetically and statically, the big pitched roof. 

These curved brickworks are made out of two types of brick, some full rectangular and other canted, in an attempt to improve the perception of a 40 meters long wall, transforming monotony into architectural order. The architects hope to be successful on this.

Situation plan

Floor plans

Elevations

Sections

Section-B

Facade details

All images © Fernando Alda

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