TERRITORY/ECOSYSTEM
41º14'44"20 N 0º96'68"21 E
Montclar is a former ilegal rural suburban lot. It is placed near Riudecanyes, on the beginning of the slope that slowly elevates over el Camp. It has overwhelming views over the whole territory and the Mediterranean sea in the horizon.
Most of the houses are self-built. Others are poorly designed by architects and then built even more poorly. As some of our territories encampments, a beautiful land destroyed by careless men showing fascinating imagination and a lack of love for the vegetal and mineral world -careless lives and careless actions full of love, despair and expectations. Weekend enclaves where smokes from barbeques and pantagruelic feasts populate the pine filled hills.
NEEDS
An old, self-built, ilegal garage on a former ilegal rural suburb. The owner had bought it very cheap on a bank auction. He had installed in it a kitchen, and he spent his weekends and summer holidays there.
Now he wanted some more space, with better conditions. He had some savings from an accident compensation he had just received, so he wanted to invest them in his weekend habitat.
RESOURCES
The existing structure was not only a foundation for the new extension, but a big cool air cushion that could be used as a costless temperature regulator. As in many of our commissions, the budget was very low, so it was easier to stick to the standard domestic necessities -a roof, thermal insulation, ventilation, water and electricity-, giving each element more than one function. The garden had some big pine trees. Instead of cutting them, we could use them as big shades for summer. It also had some lousy walls and stairs which we could just clean and slightly repair.
Architecture: David Tapias, Núria Salvadó
M/E: Josep M. Delmuns
Constructor: Paco Guart
DIAGNOSE
The quality of this place is its outdoors. Its views to the Mediterranean and el Camp. The existing structures, however clumsy they might look, are solid. Its self-built amateur nature, full of irregularities, suggests that a similar constuction system should be used, to adapt to all these little accidents.
The low budget is a clear restriction that helps us to look for solutions that are cheap in material and labor, using single-layer strategies that work as structure, humidity regulator, thermal insulation and inertia giver.
PLAN/SEARCH
MATERIALIZATION
Structural brick walls were chosen for they are the cheapest and most spread way of building here. We kept them bare.
Slight, almost invisible changes in the windows and shutter system were made, so as to improve their performance and simplify their assembly.
A new kitchen was added, and some minor repairs to the existing garage were made. This home seems to be destined to a perpetual state of construction. Not a bad condition at all.
LIFECYCLE
