Casa La Floresta, Sant Cugat del Vallès, Catalonian House, Residential Building Spain

House in La Floresta, Sant Cugat del Vallès

Spanish Residential Building design by Alventosa Morell Arquitectes, Spain

Casa La Floresta, Catalonia, Spain

Design: Alventosa Morell Arquitectes

House In La Floresta, Sant Cugat Del Vallès

This unpretentious Catalan property is formed from a cluster of pleasantly proportioned white forms perched on the hillside house in Collserola mountains.

photo : Alventosa Morell Arquitectes

3 Sep 2013

House in La Floresta

This Project springs up after some previous conversations with the owner of the site, who shares our concern about the exhaustion of the sources of fossil energies, and also the need of being more respectful with our immediate environment.

photo : Alventosa Morell Arquitectes

1. LOCATION
This house is located in the chain of Collserola mountains, which is the Nature Reserve of Barcelona.

photos : Alventosa Morell Arquitectes

2. INITIAL SITUATION
This building site, situated in the south side of a small hill, is a piece of ground that the family have been taken a great care over it; and that thanks to its thick vegetation has a unique microclimate where is very easy to relax and forget the stress of the big city and its metropolitan area.

photos : Ivan Raga

3. STRATEGIES
As our clients (customers) have a big interest in environmentally sustainable homebuilding, and we were thrilled (moved) by their feelings when telling us some family events lived in this place; the architects have used these approaches:

– We had to build an energy efficient house.
– We had to strengthen the elements that were part of their sentimental heritage (the path, the small table made from stone under the one hundred-year-old holm oak, the landscapes and its connection with the north side of the plot).

photos : Sara Roig

4. PROJECT
4.1 SENTIMENTAL HERITAGE
The project is organized by four independent modulus joined together by the roof which behaves as an interstice element of the whole spaces. This resulting union allows us to set in a visual framework of each of four elements identified as their sentimental heritage.

photos : Sara Roig

4.2 ENERGY EFFICIENT
Thanks to a climate research of this specific building site, based on official climatic data from METEOCAT, the Catalan Service of Meteorology; we get the information that fix the passive strategies to follow in order to reduce the energy consumption. With these strategies (crossed air circulation, cantilevers to protect from the sun between equinox, exploitation of the thermal mass of the cement floor…), we manage to obtain a substantial increase of people’s comfort.

photos : Ivan Raga

Furthermore, Alventosa Morell Arquitectes decided to implement a frame (facade, roof…)with the best thermal performances. This way we managed to work in a coherent way with the climate, so much in the project as in the building process; andwe get excellent services:

– Reduction of the ecological trace due to the use of natural materials from the neighbouring place where we build and with a minimals natural impact (sheep wool, Wood from fir tres…).

– We avoid any sort of condensation by only using materials that allow sweating, in order to have a healthy House.

– The construction with natural materials lets us avoid and control the toxicity of the used ones.

– The energetic use reduces by a 70,6% in comparison with a usual house with a similar Project. So we have an energetic efficient house.

photo : Ivan Raga

Casa La Floresta, Sant Cugat del Vallès – Building Information

Architects: Alventosa Morell Arquitectes (Josep Ma. Alventosa, Marc Alventosa y Xavier Morell)
Location: La Floresta, Barcelona, España
Built area 247,81m2
Photographs: Sara Roig, Ivan Raga, Alventosa Morell Arquitectes
Esculpture: Krasznai (Roger Coll)
Builder: Sebastià, Indústria de la fusta
Gardening: Jardineria Vilaverd
Year Project: 2011-12
Year Construction: 2012-13

drawings : Alventosa Morell Arquitectes