A Farm House Revitalized Light-filled with Concrete, Zinc and Galician Pine
The project is located in Miraflores, Muros, a small rural core of traditional character, formed by a set of stone houses and a large number of granaries that once housed, dried and treated corn from nearby plantations. The house is located on a steep plot, and was originally composed of two attached volumes, which respond to the traditional scheme of Galician housing whereby the main spaces were the stables and the kitchen, with the oven and the stone cooler. With the passage of time, a third volume was added and a series of modifications made that distort the building’s original character. The three volumes adapt to the slope, are protected from the winds and are almost closed off from the imposing views of the Muros estuary, giving rise to a compartmentalized interior, composed of small and dark spaces.
Fuertespenedo arquitectos’ proposal was based on an understanding of the place: the scale of the rural nucleus, the pre-existing housing, the materiality of the stone, the 180º views of the estuary and the sunlight are all parameters that have been taken into account when considering the new designs. The project idea seeks to highlight the identity of the place: dignifying the preexisting architecture and creating a fluid interior space bathed in light and directed to the views.
The architects took the decision to pursue the realization of an idea to maintain the original stone volumes in their existing form and replace the uninteresting, later, third volume for a new concrete volume, in order to complete the built set. The stone façades keep their original spaces, while in the new volume there are large windows that open onto the views of the estuary; their positions are oriented to reflect their interior use and the dialogue with the preexisting structures. The intervention is committed to a sincere use of materials, limiting the maintenance of the stone with the introduction of exposed concrete and zinc, which unifies the roofs. Another decision was to create three skylights of different dimensions that bathe the dining room space, the shower space and the old stable area, in light, directing it onto the interior stone walls.
The interior is considered as a fluid space through which the inhabitants journey, travelling through the different floors and rooms of the house, enjoying the unique character of each of its spaces. Playing with the scale, the visual connections and the light, it was possible to create a continuous spatial system that structures the spatial experience of the house. The wood, Galician pine, is the only material that unifies the entire interior, providing warmth and reinforcing the idea of the new house as a home.
Project: Rural House Restoration in Miraflores / Location: Miraflores, Muros, Coruña, Spain / Architects: Fuertespenedo Arquitectos / Principals: Óscar Fuertes Dopico, Iago Fernández Penedo / Trainee: Jorge Fernández Alonso / Building engineer: Carmen Lousame López / Structural engineering: Suárez y García a2 / Builder: Abaco CR S.L / Client: María del Carmen Cadórniga Valiño, Xan Filgueiras Lago / Gross floor area: 219m² / Cost: EUR 263,268 / Completion: 2016~2018 / Photograph: Héctor Santos Díez
