ARNAU RESIDENCE
Aldaia, Valencia 1997
The site is the result of the demolition of an old house in the middle of a narrow street in the old center of Aldaia. It presents a 12m facade to the street and is 30m deep. The street lies to the north of the site. The city master plan allows for building 3 stories high and 15m deep. Located on the outskirts of Valencia, the city center of Aldaia does not have any particular architectonic value due the systematic substitution of most of the old houses by commercial apartment buildings.
The restriction of 15m in depth allows for the existence of a garden. The awareness of the garden and the intensity of the mediterranean light influence the parti that looks for the interrelationship between indoor and outdoor spaces. The staircase in the core of the house is an organizational element. This combined with the open void constitutes the physical and visual articulation of the house. The 6-meter high glass block wall filters the different light effects produced by the movement of the sun during the day, creating an awareness of time for the inhabitants of the house. The floor of the master bedroom is 70 cm higher than that of the library to both make the volume of the living room higher and to intensify the spatial effect of movement along the house.
The garden facade is articulated in such a way that steps back from the existing palm tree while the clear tower-like volume protects the terraces from intruding views. The corner windows are oriented towards the palm tree.