144. Stone House

The only programme for this house was a request from the owners: "When we're outside the house we should have an irrepressible urge to head inside, and when we’re inside we should be drawn irresistibly outdoors".

The house looks down discreetly over the site, leaning against the natural hillside amid the sturdy holm oaks, offering views over the landscape and the city of Cáceres. From this dominant position, the house aims to be respectful of the natural-artificial environment, establishing formal and constructive ties with the immediate surroundings and the historic centre of Cáceres.

Despite its small size, the house plays the role of a palace for its inhabitants. This noble character is supported both by the extreme simplicity of its layout and by its strictly traditional construction.

From the outside, the house appears as a simple prismatic volume with a square floorplan, measuring 16m on each side, built with walls of local quartzite from Cáceres. There are three 2.10-metre openings on each side, framed by warm-toned granite from Extremadura.

Inside, there are nine cubic rooms, each measuring 4.20m to a side, which can house the different uses: living room, bedrooms, kitchen and dining room. Between these rooms are the spaces for services, including closets and bathrooms.

Each of the nine rooms is built in two separate layers: a bottom layer clad in oak planks, which houses all the building services; and a top layer in white concrete, free from any kind of mechanism or lighting system.

Each room opens to the outside through square oak-lined windows: in the wooden base, the sliding windows measure 2.10m on each side; and in the concrete structure, the motorized windows measure 1.50 metres per side.

Behind the house, framed by holm oaks and olive trees, an open platform, which invites the residents to enjoy life outdoors when the weather permits, sits adjacent to a small pool that can be used for swimming in the summer.

A lower level, with direct access from the street, is used for all the complementary programme: parking, mechanical room, storage, etc.