Atrium House / Fran Silvestre Arquitectos

© Fernando Alda

Architects: Fran Silvestre Arquitectos
Location: Valencia,
Project Architects: Fran Silvestre Navarro, Maria Jose Sáez
Project Team: Carlos García Mateo, Pedro Vicente López López, José Vicente Miguel López, José Ángel Ruíz Millo, Fernando Usó Martín, Alexandre Marcos
Structural Engineering: David Gallardo Llopis
Interior Design: Alfaro Hofmann
Client: Naves y Fábricas, S.L. | Guillermo Caballero de Luján
Contractor: COARCO
Site Area: 1,150 sqm
Project Area: 782.85 sqm
Project Year: 2010
Photographs: Fernando Alda

A House in a urban area parts of the desire to maximize the feeling of spaciousness.

ground floor plan
basement floor plan

Two strategies are used. The principal is to release the largest possible in the middle of the site allowing you to enjoy a private space with a height and volume incalculable. It enhances the perimeter of contact with the outside housing, land and housing understood as a continuum. On the other hand uses the existing slope to the ravine next to illuminate the basement, which enables you to host the program.

© Fernando Alda

The building is developed along the southern and western boundaries of the parcel, which together with the elements of urbanization of the site, form a kind of atrium, whose diagonal flight to a distant vision of the Sierra Calderona.

© Fernando Alda
© Fernando Alda

Access is accompanied by the south facade to find the point of intersection. At this point of view inside the distributor is located next to the stairs and the kitchen form the backbone of the operation of housing. The southern zone where the rooms are available during the day, dematerialized their presence due to the overhead light. In the west the rooms fall to a portion of parcel with a more domestic scale, while the master bedroom overlooking the lift light reflected on water.

© Fernando Alda

In the dark basement and garage are in the cellar. All other uses of the program look into the ravine through which light up.

* Location to be used only as a reference. It could indicate city/country but not exact address.
Cite: "Atrium House / Fran Silvestre Arquitectos" 29 Aug 2010. ArchDaily. Accessed 25 May 2013. <http://www.archdaily.com/75063>

19 comments

  2. Thumb up Thumb down 0

    Privacy is something you chose to have, not a prerequisite to achieve a house to the client’s requirements. And it can also be obtained in many different ways. I liked the project. It’s easy to like, though perhaps without great spiritual depth.

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  3. Thumb up Thumb down 0

    I like the hidden details eg. window frames & joints etc, and how light shelves, handrails are tastely hidden behind reveals and just disappear into the wall.

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  7. Thumb up Thumb down +1

    Pure art of architectural minimalism. Everything is perfect: balanced overall architectonic shape and site plan composition, beautiful and calm interior spaces, mirror plane of the pool, ideal details & finishes (oh, details! did you see the drawings – freaking amazing!), even photography (dramatic shots, fantastic light, those black human figures are perfect…) Did I say “perfect” again?
    Yes it is perfect overall.
    Maybe too perfect?
    (But who cares about practicalities once we see a pure act of Art.)

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    • Thumb up Thumb down 0

      Ditto! Neat..Tough to keep it that way when one uses it, its though.. But that is minimalism for you.. I hope the client is minimalistic in lifestyle to sustain it..

      Reply
  8. Thumb up Thumb down 0

    The fake/contrived poses and acting of the people in the video are a great metaphor for the project itself: pretentious, full of itself, antiseptic, devoid of soul.

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  9. Thumb up Thumb down 0

    Oh waw, een L-shaped, one story high, white villa, with pool and way too clean.
    Some detail architecture tricks and it’s ON.
    No seriously, give it some warmer materials, a rough wooden floor would be totally different.

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  10. Thumb up Thumb down 0

    Granted it looks perfect, but it’s also something that’s perhaps more appropriate on the commercial front. I love minimalism and a certain degree of exposure (love many of the Japanese work), but this one is verging towards the uncomfortable for me.

    Pristine design, but not my cup of tea

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  11. Thumb up Thumb down +1

    Good to thing more info on this house, it caught my eye when I saw it a few months ago on The Plan magazine.

    I like it, but at the same time I understand and to some level agree with the points raised by others, negative or not.

    My main concern (for the lack of a better word) with the house are basically 2:

    - The secondary bedrooms aren’t properly designed, just put an imaginary trace paper atop of them and highlight the bathrooms, closets and circulation area, you’ll end up with more of less 2/3 of the space occupied, leaving you with only 1/3 to furnish it. The main bedroom is dead on, though.

    - I think there’s too much “built” floor surface, at a times an unnecessary use of marble. The “Patio Ingles” could (should) have been grass for instance, and there’s really no need to fill with marble the ground between the house and the pool. I understand the wanted emphasis in the square geometry, but I think it’s too much, plus the edge of the pool already configures your geomerty, no need to actually “paint” a square.

    A by product of the previous point is a highly reflective area, and I don’t see any air conditioning used in the house (I might be wrong though) Just the shades won’t be enough to keep the house cool during summer, with all that marble reflecting heat.

    Still, beautiful house.

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  14. Thumb up Thumb down 0

    sorry for my question, but how much could cost this project (architecture – projection work)?

    Reply

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