CASA H | Marina Senabre

Casa H is a house, studio and workshop on a ground floor located in the center
of Valencia, in the place previously occupied by the emblematic EPB Studio.
The intervention, although subtle, is key when it comes to understanding the
space again, where professional activity will now coexist with daily life.

Before 2020, there was a classic and binary scheme that clearly marked what
was a home and a studio (separately), but since then the line has tended to be
diluted and mixed. Faced with this new changing scenario, architecture must
be able to collect and apply the new variables, to adapt and evolve at the same
time as people's way of life. The intervention arises precisely that year and is
the result of this new context. The project, therefore, reflects on and proposes
new ways of living, focusing on flexibility, the fluidity of spaces and the
complete connection of the exterior with the interior.

At the starting point, the studio is divided into two large rooms separated by a
patio. The main intention of the project is to change the concept: THE PATIO
DOES NOT SEPARATE BUT UNITES. With this objective, the connection piece
is completely permeable and has sufficient dimensions to house not only a
necessary passageway but also the large kitchen, essential both in the home
and in the studio, thus endowing it with meaning and intention. The patio and
the kitchen therefore become the core of the house, where most of life takes
place and from where you have a perspective of everything that happens.

The exterior carpentry system of this piece is made up of square modules in
natural iron that form two large sliding leaves. When they are opened, the line
between the kitchen and the patio blurs, making it impossible to determine
where one ends and the other begins. The concrete pavement extends from
the interior to the exterior, thus emphasizing the sense of continuity. The
dimension of the house becomes variable, by incorporating the exterior space
as a fundamental and indivisible part.

The project proposes to inhabit the house in a completely open and flexible
way, where all the spaces are connected to each other. The layout of the night
area is planned around a piece of woodwork that orders the space around it
without restricting it. The circulation is always fluid and continuous. The
concept of this piece reflects even more on the variables in a home, which
constantly change over time: the piece is ephemeral and versatile, it can be
modified and transformed along with the needs of the people who live in the
house.

The materiality of the house points out the value of the original space and
maintains the natural iron carpentry, the wooden flooring or the concrete wall
where the studio logo stands out, but at the same time places the house in the
present moment and reflects references that bring it closer to Japanese
aesthetics, such as the new interior woodwork in birch, the use of color, the
continuous flooring or the light and flexible enclosures. The project extols the
original study and links it to contemporary architecture with absolute respect
and admiration.

The result of the project is a convertible and fluid house. It is inside and outside
at the same time. It is home, studio and workshop. It is capable of adapting
and changing over time. It is Valencia and Japan. It is respect for the preexisting
and new relationships between spaces. But above all, it is a starting
point and an opportunity to conceive new architectures.