Casa de doce pilares | Piano Piano Studio

Until deciding to build the house, Alberto and Manuela lived very comfortably in their multi-

story home in Port Saplaya, where they opened the windows, and their views were of the

breadth of the sea and the marina. To be closer to the family, they chose to build the "The

Twelve-Pillars House".

The chosen plot on which to start a new life was in the suburban area of ​​Foios, on the

border between the town and the agricultural area, flanked by a very quiet street and a park

that acts as a buffer before the orange groves. The block had plots with narrow and deep

facades that were not yet fully built on.

As it is a development area and being away from the consolidated urban nucleus, there

were few references from the environment with which to be able to relate and assimilate.

Nor were the regulatory conditions particularly restrictive. The fact of having a non-built

environment was good on the one hand, since it would allow us to have more freedom to

plan the project. But on the other hand, it is always difficult to make completely

decontextualized architecture. So we chose to be faithful to our own references and start

the project based on them, designing a house whose volume and envelope would remind us

of where we were and tie us to the place in a very conscious way.

From the outside, the image of the house is subtle in appearance: known and typical

materials for the experienced hands of the local workers: well-executed brick bond and

limestone details, controlled openings and a subtle gesture with geometric intention that

anticipate the outcome inside.

The project can be divided into three concatenated spaces along the plot in an east-west

direction: a first volume that is accessed from the main street host the house and the porch,

a second volume on the west end, next to the park, that houses the garage and the

barbecue. Between, a patio in which the green element will grow as time goes by. In this

way, cross ventilation and distribution are favored.

The clients wanted a house that gave a feeling of openness. We proposed a central access

through the main facade so that the background perspective from the main door would be

the patio helping to have a spaciousness feeling.

When entering the house, a warming feeling invades the area at a standard height, but at the

same time, the space is visually connected with the upper hallway which provides a

spaciousness and beautiful space.

When crossing the access to the most private areas of the house, we reach a space of

height and a half which is closed with a sloping roof. Daytime and shared uses happen in

that zone. Moving to a different home, should not mean giving up the comforts and habits

that one has acquired in a different home over time.

At the opposite end to the access the porch is located, assumed as the space that widens

and blurs the boundary between inside and outside. Although in their current house the

family meets every Sunday on the roofed terrace of the attic, the same tradition could now

continue at the porch equipped with everything necessary for it.

The east-west orientation of the house allows taking advantage of the sun and the breeze.

The west porch facilitates the afternoon sunlight coming to the interior in winter, as well as

acts as defender in the warmer months by providing adequate shade.

On the east façade, the access façade, a setback terrace that is shared between the two

upper rooms allows to enjoy the cool air facing the sea.

If in the collective imagination the sloping tile roof and the brick facade are associated with

a traditional house and popular architecture, and linked us consciously to the place, the

intent inside was the opposite. We proposed open spaces reducing the closed volumes to

the minimum and in which the crossed views and the introduction of light came from

above. The structure is resolved with circular and slender metallic profiles that are visible,

the twelve pillars, which arrange the space and give the sensation of having an ethereal

cover. This feeling of lightness is reinforced by the staircase which, beyond being a massive

element, is quite the opposite: a light staircase also built with metal profiles. In front of this

delicate element, a piece is built at the opposite end that houses bathrooms and a pantry

emerging as a very forceful sculptural element.

We have tried to make a very simple proposal for the required domestic program, in which the

construction system is clear, defined, and easy to execute. We tried to make a delicate piece that unites the town with the orchard through double heights, crossed views, sloping roofs and spaces that expand and contract, that welcome you as you go into its journey.