Adaptation of urban to rural. Housing in the woods by Vaillo+Irigaray Architects

"Housing in the woods" is a project by Vaillo+Irigaray Architects that is located in a rural setting next to a forest. This housing complex is located in the municipality of Zuzur Mayor, in Navarra, Spain.

The building by Vaillo+Irigaray Architects is the result of grouping 18 single-family homes. The architects' studio looks for the elements in common with the houses of the same typology that are found in urban areas despite the difference in the environment, managing to optimize resources and maintenance, while improving common areas. "Homes in the forest" contains 3 floors with 6 homes each in an area of 2500 m².

Housing in the woods by Vaillo+Irigaray Architects. Photography by Rubén Pérez Bescós.

Vaillo+Irigaray Architects have designed these houses taking into account the place where it is located, adapting to nature and taking their forms and vegetation as a reference, such as the vegetated slopes used to connect the house with the exteriors and thus avoid walls.

The windows on the north façade are slanted and random “arrow slits” to complement the trunks of the trees in the forest. On the south façade are the terraces of the respective houses.

"Viviendas en el bosque" uses profiled corrugated steel as a material. The colour chosen for this steel is bronze as it offers different variations and shades depending on the sun, the clouds or the time of day.

Housing in the woods by Vaillo+Irigaray Architects. Photography by Rubén Pérez Bescós.

Description of project by Vaillo+Irigaray Architects

The project is located on the edge of a forest, between the traditional nucleus and a new development area in a small village in the Pamplona basin.

The typological singularity lies in the inclusion of "stacked" dwellings, -6 per floor on 3 levels-, apparently resolved within the section of a single-family dwelling. This provides an image close to the traditional "house" section, in keeping with the volumetry of the dwellings in the urban nucleus.

The distortion of the scale is caused by the extrusion of the section and is accentuated by slopes in contact with the terrain, as well as the shadow generated by the great depth of the terraces.

The topographical adaptation is resolved by means of vegetated slopes, -avoiding enclosures and walls-, imposing an overflow of the ground and visually shortening the built section.

The shell that forms the section also gestures its position with regard to the orientation, closing to the north and opening to the south. The north façade is resolved by means of "arrow slit" windows, slit and random, seeking a rhythmic relationship with the tree trunks of the forest to which they are oriented. The south façade is resolved by means of deep running terraces.

The envelope of the shell is resolved by using a single material -facades and roof-, made of ribbed profiled steel. The bronze colour provides a changing image and texture depending on the sunlight, cloud cover, the season or the time of day...

Site plan of de Housing in the woods by Vaillo+Irigaray Architects.

Ground floor of Housing in the woods by Vaillo+Irigaray Architects.

First plant of Housing in the woods by Vaillo+Irigaray Architects.

Longitudinal section of de Housing in the woods by Vaillo+Irigaray Architects.

Cross section of Housing in the woods by Vaillo+Irigaray Architects.

Elevation of Housing in the woods by Vaillo+Irigaray Architects.

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More information

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Architects

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Vaillo+Irigaray Architects: Antonio vaillo i Daniel, Juan Luis Irigaray Huarte, Yago Vaillo Usón.

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Project team

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Yago Fernandez, Javier Oyanarte, Amaia Lumbreras.

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Collaborators

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Eduardo Ozoidi (Structure), Naven Ingenieros (Engineering), Javier Escuchuri (Quantity Surveyor).

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Client

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Private.

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Builder

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Obramas (Construction) and Goyo Larumbe – Lineal (Metalworking).

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Area

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2500 sqm.

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Date

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July 2022.

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Location

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Zuzur Mayor, Navarra, Spain.

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Photography

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Rubén Pérez Bescós.

Antonio Vaíllo, Juan Luis Irigaray, Yago Vaíllo. Vaillo + Irigaray Architects

Vaillo + Irigaray Architects is an architecture firm founded in 1998 by Antonio Vaíllo and Juan Luis Irigaray, with Yago Vaíllo joining as a partner in 2020. It is located in Navarra, Spain.

The working method in the office is based on the concept of project strategy, which embraces the widest range of possible scales, from a simple bench to the whole city. It proposes a creative process that will develop founding concepts to be equally applied to management, procedures and design.

Vaillo + Irigaray Architects conceive design from a multifocal perspective, so they deal with matters from diverse points of view to contribute unifying solutions.

Their source of inspiration is the project itself: the client, function, program, and financial resources… are just raw materials for creativity. Consequently, every project has a unique personality, every project demands exclusive materials and details: every project requires an investigation process and precise development, according to specific needs. The office structure is organized into 6 areas:

eLAB.- Experimental laboratory for basic creativity to explore urban, social, and cultural needs. It is oriented to generate new patterns of interaction with the world of industry, architecture and art. I + D + i.- Innovation and research to face the needs in every project according to the world of industry, construction and arts and crafts. BRANDing 360°.- Platform to promote brand strategy as a 360º process. PROJECTS.-Area for design and definition of urban, architectural and industrial projects.

PROJECTS.- Area for design and definition of: Museums architecture, Museography, Interior design, Product design, Public architecture, Educational architecture, Housing, Health architecture, Offices architecture, Commercial architecture, Urban design, and Industrial architecture. INTERNATIONAL.- We develop our international dimension associated with different architectural firms in Switzerland, Mexico and Israel. TEACHING.- Defenders of professional hybridization theory/practice, we combine the practice of architecture with the Teaching. Teachers in different Schools of Architecture and Guest Lecturers in different educational institutions teach disciplines related to architecture, Innovation and Creativity. Regular lectures at several centres, institutions and groups.

AWARDS & PUBLICATIONS.- Their work has received numerous awards in national and international competitions both for formal and constructive quality. Their work is regularly published in the most important national and international media.