House RC46 in Monturque, Córdoba (Spain)
Single-family house on a steep slope
Single-family house on a steep slope
© Javier Orive
© Javier Orive
© Javier Orive
© Javier Orive
Monturque is a town of two thousand inhabitants, dedicated to fine wine andolive oil, in the heart of Cordoba’s countryside. The clients were a youngcouple who wanted to build a family house in their hometown for their newlyfounded family. They owned a piece of land which had been drastically affectedby the recent urbanization of the area. The opening of a new street, with avery steep slope, gave the plot a new façade but narrowed it to the extreme.
The building consists in one only bay which opens to the new street,getting natural light and ventilation without needing a backyard. The spacesthat form the program sit on the continuous floors one after another as on ahuge racking. In opposition, the volume of the construction is articulated bymodules that climb the slope, resembling a set of related tiny town-houses.
The core of the house is an empty module that contains the stairs, becominga building-size staircase. The flights run across the perimeter making placefor the natural light from the light-shaft to reach the ground floor, which isunderground at that point. The stairs adapt the lengths of its flights andplatforms to cope with the heights of the different levels. Once at thelandings, small halls work as connection chambers to protect the private areas.
The façade of the building expresses this mentioned opposition betweenunity and multiplicity that governs the project. The similarity of thedifferent modules is underlined through the use of pilasters, cornice and baseplinths, taken from the local building tradition, not to mention the unifyingcolors. On the other side, the windows’ framings point out their differentcompositions, what shows the diversity of its contents.
The building consists in one only bay which opens to the new street,getting natural light and ventilation without needing a backyard. The spacesthat form the program sit on the continuous floors one after another as on ahuge racking. In opposition, the volume of the construction is articulated bymodules that climb the slope, resembling a set of related tiny town-houses.
The core of the house is an empty module that contains the stairs, becominga building-size staircase. The flights run across the perimeter making placefor the natural light from the light-shaft to reach the ground floor, which isunderground at that point. The stairs adapt the lengths of its flights andplatforms to cope with the heights of the different levels. Once at thelandings, small halls work as connection chambers to protect the private areas.
The façade of the building expresses this mentioned opposition betweenunity and multiplicity that governs the project. The similarity of thedifferent modules is underlined through the use of pilasters, cornice and baseplinths, taken from the local building tradition, not to mention the unifyingcolors. On the other side, the windows’ framings point out their differentcompositions, what shows the diversity of its contents.
