House with Two Wings nestles at the base of a hill in Southern Spain‘s Sanlúcar de Barrameda, a city in the Cádiz province, and celebrates the terrain on which it stands. Designed by for a couple who moved from the North in pursuit of the country’s Southern air and sunlight, the crisp white, single-storey, minimalist dwelling aimed to accommodate daily living with work and guest spaces. This requirement led to the split program, creating two wings of the house. The architects explain:
These spaces can coexist in proximity but do not necessarily need direct connections. The project explores the notion of span versus size: a modestly sized house that, by separating the wings, covers much more space than it occupies.
The interior uses are divided into two wings, one facing west towards the Guadalquivir River and the other facing east towards the olive grove at the back of the property. These two wings unfold to embrace as much natural space as possible.
The stepped terraces and the structures containing the different parts of the building are constructed using distinct methods. The terraces are the result of a foundation that adapts to the natural slope of the land. They consist of horizontal floors and vertical walls crafted from concrete that is poured on-site. This integrated flooring brings harmony between the structure and the landscape, effectively controlling the earth’s contours. Resting upon this foundation, three pristine white volumes emerge.
These volumes are built with load-bearing ceramic walls and external insulation. They evoke a fundamental construction style based on horizontal beams, and their towering height is broken by flat segments to establish more welcoming intermediate areas amidst them. Alongside the two sections accommodating the everyday living spaces and occasionally utilised rooms, there is a third section housing the bathroom. This part extends beyond the entrance courtyard and is positioned at an angle to the parallel arrangement of the terraces. This deliberate placement introduces a shift in the layout, influenced by the panoramic views towards the Guadalquivir River.
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