© Adrià Goula

House near Barcelona

Residential house, Masonry, 10/2017, Flat roof, Bricks, Concrete, Bricks, Solid forms of construction, Materials and finishes, Solid construction
Architect
Harquitectes
Source
DETAIL 10/2017
© Adrià Goula
© Adrià Goula
© Adrià Goula
© Adrià Goula
© Adrià Goula
In an area dominated by single-family residences lies the little Spanish municipality of Palau-solità i Plegamans, a town situated approximately 25 km north of Barcelona and the location of the present house by Harquitectes. This building stands out for the simplicity and clarity of its design. The brick walls are based on a strict grid of 3.5 x 5.2 m, which resulted in spaces of equal size lined up in pairs. Circulation areas as such do not exist.

The bare, unplastered walls of double-skin brickwork in regular stretcher bond, together with the brick vaulted ceiling and the ground concrete of the floors, lend the internal spaces a rough, unpolished character. The use of various brick sizes resulted in a subtle horizontal articulation of the wall surfaces. A continuous frieze, consisting of flat brickwork, acts as a lintel over the openings in the building, which are all of equal size and extend down to the ground.

The inadequate load-bearing capacity of the upper layers of soil, consisting of red, sandy earth, caused quite a headache for the architects. Cost and ecological factors spoke against deep foundations, and a lightweight form of construction was rejected for climatic reasons. An answer to the problem was found in the regular spacings of the brick walls. The loads are evenly distributed over the strip foundations that were created and inserted in step-like form in the sloping site. In addition, the void beneath the ground floor slab was filled with gravel.

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