El Priorato | Atienza Maure Arquitectos

A priest’s house from the 16th century that burned down. Renovation of a stone ruin into a vacation house

El Priorato is the project on a house of the 16th century in the north of Castille that burned down in a recent fire. Only the stone walls were left standing. As the land on a steep slope, the ground floor is partly a basement, open on one side towards the garden and the mountains to the south. Thus, it seemed to us that the best option was to introduce light from five new skylights. The rescued stone arches are replicated in white concrete and two new stairs are placed, unfolding the original one, also made of stone. It was possible to do this thanks to the expertise of the workers of the region who built it. Everything revolves around the attempt to introduce light into the rooms and on the ground floor, as in John Soane’s house museum or in the Rascainfernos of Fernando Higueras. Probably the only thing that was missing from the Castilian house that it was.