GARDENIAS HOUSE | Mano de Santo - Architecture team

The Gardenias House is an isolated single-family home, designed on land that housed an unfinished structure, witness to the havoc caused by the Real Estate Bubble crisis of 2006.

Instead of opting for demolition, we carry out structural control tests and trials in collaboration with specialized laboratories and engineering. This exhaustive analysis considered both the date of execution and the deterioration caused by abandonment, supporting our decision to preserve and revitalize the existing structure in our new project.

The original design proposed a palatial architecture, amalgamating ostentatious architectural styles and dubious taste. So, the real challenge lay in reusing the pre-existing structure and adapting the program to our clients' needs. Our goal was to achieve an ideal distribution of spaces and ensure the presence of natural light in all rooms of the home. For this purpose, we conceived two skylights, one in the main hall and another in the common area of ​​the children's rooms, thus flooding all the rooms with sunlight that shows us the unfolding of the day.

On the ground floor, the main uses of the house are directly connected to the surroundings, offering panoramic views of a valley dotted with orange trees. The lower level houses a games room, gym, facilities and a garage.

This new building was born with the idea of ​​minimizing the generation of waste, by avoiding the demolition of the pre-existing structure in a state of abandonment. Prioritizing natural lighting, the harmonious integration of spaces with the natural environment, efficient construction solutions and energy self-sufficiency through an extensive photovoltaic system on the roof, proposing an exercise of responsibility, sensitivity and technique.