Prefab Meets Handicraft in This Airy Spanish Home

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Project Details:

Location: Madrid, Spain

Architect: Delavegacanolasso / @delavegacanolasso

Footprint: 3,440 square feet

Builder: Cónica 77

Structural Engineer: Álvaro Perez Garay

Photographer: Paco Marín

Drone Photographer: Studio Cafecito

From the Architect: “This house is organized around two patios that draw the garden into the interior and blur the boundaries between inside and out. In winter, they gather light generously; in summer, the water in a reflecting pool provides coolness and a gentle murmur.

“The entrance to the house unfolds as a measured, almost ceremonial sequence. A long white wall guides the approach, leading to a porch shaded by wooden slats. From there, a gentle, elongated ramp ascends as the space narrows and the light gradually dims. The transition from exterior to interior, from brightness to shadow, is thus amplified. The entrance hall maintains this restrained height, and a faint, filtered light begins to seep in through the patios, which naturally guide and structure the path. The path leads to the main space, where the volume rises and natural light floods in.

“The bedrooms face east, welcoming the morning sun, and are set slightly lower than the rest of the house. This difference in level allows for an intimate visual connection with the garden, almost at ground level, and contributes to thermal comfort during the warmer months.

“Daily life is organized around the main patio. The living and dining rooms open out toward it and extend to a large south-facing porch that shields glazed openings from excessive sunlight. From the volume that rises above the rest of the house sits the study—a suspended space for work and contemplation, visually connected to the surrounding oaks and granite outcrops.

“One of the most distinctive elements of the project is the staircase leading to this study. Light and suspended, made of metal with wooden treads, it floats in space like an autonomous piece. It hangs from the upper structure without direct supports, and its presence elegantly marks the vertical core of the house. It not only leads to the elevated study, but also subtly structures the transition toward the bedroom area, as if guiding the path without dictating it.

“The materials used follow a logic of harmony and permanence over time: white-rendered walls and warm pine wood. The flooring is made of hand-fired clay tiles crafted in Morocco. Each piece, unique and irregular, was carefully laid by Moroccan artisans over the course of several weeks. Their meticulous work took longer than the entire assembly of the metal roof structure, making this floor a true jewel of the house.

“That structure, by contrast, was prefabricated in a workshop and arrived on-site already cut, allowing for quick and precise installation—a clear expression of efficiency and control. This is not an architecture that seeks to stand out, but a house that allows itself to be inhabited. One that converses with its surroundings and with time, and that aspires—through restraint—to accompany life in a natural and quiet way.”