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© Roland Halbe
Comparing his holiday home on the coast of Galicia, Spain, with a truffle because of its symbiotic relationship to the earth, the architect was involved in much of the experimental construction work. Straw bales were stacked in the shallow excavation to form the single spatial volume, and unreinforced concrete was poured over them. Earth was strewn on top of the unset concrete, and openings then had to be cut with a stone saw for a door, window and roof light. The 50 m3 of straw that remained internally were literally eaten away by a calf in the course of a year. Traces of the bales are still visible in the sandblasted interior, yet the puristic fibre-cement furnishings lend “La Trufa” a surprisingly noble note.