Catalan structure workplace Aixopluc changed many improvised sheds and porches surrounding a previous home within the metropolis of Reus with an extension that utilizes an analogous palette of low-cost, light-weight constructing supplies.
The 1,000-square-metre plot in Aixopluc‘s house metropolis of Reus was owned by the shopper’s father, who previous to his demise had spent many years including numerous ad-hoc constructions to a conventional two-storey farmhouse.
The venture takes its identity, MAS JEC, from the phrase “mas” – used to explain such a farmhouse in Catalonia – and an acronym of the names of the household which now lives there.
Aixopluc was tasked with reorganizing the location to create a variety of lodging, together with renovating the mas constructing and making an extra formal extension containing residing areas for the household of three.
For the reason that mas was constructed, the location had been subsumed into the town’s city sprawl. It’s now enclosed on the northern and northwestern sides by residence blocks that shelter it from the summer time solar and powerful mistral winds.
The location’s distribution of sunshine and shade knowledgeable the design proposal, together with the shoppers’ request for a single-storey dwelling that might be extra snug and accessible as they get older.
The primary resolution to be made was whether or not to demolish and substitute the prevailing home, which was unsuited to the shoppers’ wants. For sentimental causes, the mas was saved intact and a brand new construction was proposed that maintains the character of the fondly remembered outbuildings.
“The worth of this place was not the prevailing important home,” claimed Aixopluc. “Though its construction was in fairly good condition, what made it inhabitable had been its self-built backyard constructions.”Related storyMae Architects uses circular design principles to build Sands End community centre
“We wanted to discover a solution to upcycle these constructions and add some extra inhabitable air amongst them.”
The extension occupies the shaded space to the northwest of the primary home. The sheltered location creates a microclimate that prompted the architects to suggest a light-weight building that opens as much as obtain one of the best of the westerly gentle.
The primary construction is comprised of cross-laminated timber panels that had been ready off website and erected in simply two weeks.
The constructing is topped with a corrugated metallic roof supported by slender metal poles, giving it the looks of a porch or one of many sheds constructed by the proprietor’s father.
The location’s uncommon weather conditions additionally knowledgeable the home’s inside association and the selection of cladding supplies.
The bedrooms are situated on the northeast facet to catch the low morning solar in winter, and are coated in thick cork panels to insulate them at night time.
The kitchen on the constructing’s western facet receives afternoon solar in winter. The timber panels are left uncovered right here as their thermal mass ensures a cushty inside temperature.
Inside the home, wooden is used for nearly each floor, together with the flooring, ceilings and fitted cabinetry. Bench seating and even the eating desk are comprised of the identical laminated wood boards.
Openings between the totally different areas, in addition to a number of the home windows to the surface, characteristic rounded corners which are echoed within the handles of the cabinets and sliding doorways.
Renovations undertaken contained in the mas included eradicating lots of the inside partitions and a part of the primary ground to create an open, multifunctional house.
“We erased any hint of programme or particular use contained in the mas,” mentioned the architects, explaining that the home might be occupied by the shoppers’ daughter sooner or later.
“Kitchen, gone. Bogs, gone. Rooms, gone. First ground, half gone,” they added. “An area devoid of any programmatic constraint, simply an inside. Not ineffective, however with no specific predetermined use. What had been as soon as small, darkish rooms are turned, as if by means of some magic trick, right into a tall, gentle tower.”
A wood-burning range was positioned within the central double-height corridor and small openings had been added to enhance air flow. Externally, the mas was painted in a color the shopper remembered from the primary time he visited the location.
Aixopluc was based by architect David Tapias and describes itself as “a crew of architects dedicated to creating the earth extra inhabitable”.
The architects work remotely however have an workplace in Reus, above which they created an experimental one-room apartment to showcase a modular furnishing system they developed.
The studio additionally collaborated with Brooklyn-based Pretend Industries Architectural Agonism on the design of a holiday home in nearby Alforja, which options a completely openable floor ground.
Images is by José Hevia.