MORFAE

the shape of things: architecture, design, interior, art, style

26.04 2011

‘House on Cliffside’ by Fran Silvestre Arquitectos in Calpe, Spain

A piece is incrusted into the sloping land, maintaining its natural profile which is overshadowed by the house on top.

‘House on Cliffside,’ Fran Silvestre Arquitectos latest project, is a dramatic addition to an existing steep cliff side with minimum intervention to its topography. The crisp austere minimal form is raised off the ground and then extended outwards capturing spectacular sea views, almost like abstracted binoculars.

‘House on Cliffside’ by Fran Silvestre Arquitectos in Calpe.

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The extremely steep plot of land offers such spectacular sea views that it invites one to spend time, relax and do nothing.

A piece is incrusted into the sloping land, maintaining its natural profile which is overshadowed by the house on top.

Under the sunlight, the swimming-pool is closer to the sea and a quiet cove.

In the point of inflection, the stairway posits an evocative journey, a garden on the basement…

Considering the steepness of the land and the desire to contain the living area on one storey, a three-dimensional structure of reinforced concrete slabs and pieces that adapt to the land’s topography was chosen, thus reducing earthworks to a minimum. A horizontal platform is created by this stone-anchored monolithic construction on the level of access from the street, where the living area is located. The swimming-pool is located on a lower level, in a flat area of the site. The concrete construction has external thermal insulation with a flexible, smooth, white grout lime coating. The remaining materials, walls, flooring, roof ballasting… are in the same colour, underscoring the homogeneous character.