Del Salvador House | Mano de Santo - Architecture team

The new house, located in the historic center of the municipality of Alacuás, aims to keep alive the traditional identity of the peoples of the Valencian orchard. Through a simple, functional construction without great ornaments, an image of a city is configured in which the luminosity and sobriety of the whitewashed walls, the warmth of the wood or the rough texture of the baked clay on the roof tiles predominate. This palette of materials and sensations, together with the austerity and practicality of the traditional architecture of the orchard, constitute the starting point in the design procedure of the house.

 From the first moment, the clients expressed their desire to live mainly on the ground floor, as well as their consequent concern for privacy, which naturally led to a proposal for a “patio house”, so common in our Mediterranean culture. In this way, a wide air space is projected inside the plot towards which the rooms, grouped programmatically in two volumes, turn. The first, with a gabled roof and double height, constitutes the container in which the main areas of the house are interconnected, in a spacious and bright space with a fluid connection with the outside through a longitudinal window. The second, a simple prism located perpendicular to the first to achieve greater privacy, holds the bedrooms and private areas of the house.

 In addition to providing abundant ventilation and natural lighting, the interior patio prolongs the views to the outside and broadens the perception of space. Its design and orientation also allows it to function as a climate buffer that cushions atmospheric conditions and reduces energy demand. At one end of it, a small pool is built that contributes with its freshness to fill a space with life that ends up establishing itself as the true heart of the house.