Marta's House / Raúl Gutiérrez Salgado

Curated by ArchDaily

Architects: Raúl Gutiérrez Salgado
Area: 112 m²

Text description provided by the architects. La Casa de Marta is located in Celorio, Concejo de Llanes, Asturias. Between Oviedo and Santander, approximately one hundred Km from each city. This is one of the most beautiful areas of northern Spain. Mountains, beaches, Cliffs, and exuberant vegetation form a spectacular natural setting.

The 850m² site slopes down from the north to the south toward the views. The surrounding context is low-density residential composed of single-family houses predominantly. There are plenty of green areas and beaches.

Marta's House / Raúl Gutiérrez Salgado - Facade — Courtesy of Raúl Gutiérrez Salgado

The vertical volume is located towards the East; it contains the private areas (bedrooms and bathrooms) to take advantage of the morning light. The roof of this volume has the same slope as the existing site.

Marta's House / Raúl Gutiérrez Salgado - Sofa, Table — Courtesy of Raúl Gutiérrez Salgado

The horizontal volume cantilevers towards the south and west aligning to the existing geometry of the site. It is glassed on its south side to allow natural light into the building especially during the winter months. An opaque ventilated façade to the west protects the building from the predominant winter wind (gallego) as well as the most intense sun radiation in the warmest summer months.

There is a double height space over the living room that allows south light deep into the living room during the winter months.

The Living-dining room is south-facing for optimum light and view orientation. Sliding glass doors connect this space to the outdoor covered sitting area and the garden. The kitchen is open to the dining area and integrated in the main space. There is a toilet, a laundry room and a boiler room in the areas that are in contact with the terrain.

The vestibule at entry level (level 0) gives access to the stair that takes you down to the living room, a corridor that connects to the study/viewing room, the bedrooms and shared bathroom and the stairs up to the master bedroom.

All the spaces have natural light and ventilation; almost all the main spaces except for one bedroom are south-facing.The structure of the building is composed of metal beams and columns with solid reinforced concrete walls and slabs. Large format (3mx1m) grey porcelain ventilated façade to match the zinc used in the north façade and the roof. Double glazing aluminum windows with thermal and acoustic insulation.