In Los Picachos, a unique rural setting with great scenic value, in the Ronda mountain range, a few kilometres from the urban centre of Arriate, in the province of Malaga, the founding architect of FORarquitectura designs a single-family home that unfolds, divides and rotates to generate a perfect symbiosis between the surrounding landscape and the interior atmospheres.

The design creates a home permeable to the landscape, the Accordion House, which is located in an area undergoing urban transformation, rises as a home that shows, as a key to its realization, a sensitive and respectful coexistence with the environment, giving prominence to the views of the natural setting that surrounds it, composing a built complex made up of the concatenation of three prisms protected by a white wall reminiscent of the traditional Andalusian farmhouse.

The house proposed by FORarquitectura respects the existing topography as much as possible, excavating only the foundation trenches for the load-bearing walls and keeping the rest of the plot free to create a succession of volumes connected by bridges, where each has different heights depending on its spatial need and following a series of bioclimatic strategies. In addition, this modulation gives rise to shaded exterior spaces that encourage the coexistence between architecture, vegetation and the fauna of the mountain range, giving rise to a project with a living context.

The house, which is white and supported on a large green carpet that expands, stands out against the steep profile of the mountains, is divided into three modules and houses, in addition to a garage, two floors with bedrooms, bathrooms and kitchens, and, in the volume furthest from the access, a pool area connected to the other volumes, creating a path that induces the experience of multiple sensations caused by the way in which the spaces communicate and the stimuli from the outside are perceived from the building itself and its communications.

Integration by parts. Accordion House by FORarquitectura

Accordion House by FORarquitectura. Photograph by Juanca Lagares.

Project description by FORarquitectura

This single-family home with a roof area of ​​141.51 m² plus a garage and swimming pool is located in a unique landscape and environmental setting in the province of Malaga, the Serranía de Ronda. Framed by the Sierra de Grazalema to the west and the Sierra de las Nieves to the southeast, the building unfolds, divides and rotates to generate a perfect symbiosis between the surrounding outside world, the programme of needs and the interior atmosphere of the building. A home permeable to the landscape.

The rural environment where it is located is just 2.3 km from the urban centre of Arriate. The area, known as Los Picachos, is an area strongly conditioned by the natural setting that surrounds it and the Arroyo de la Ventilla, a water cut lined with various plant species and frequented by animals from the mountain range. A living context.

The area of ​​intervention is in a process of transition from a state of abandonment to consolidation. Casa Acordeón stands as one of the first houses to become part of the built environment and is shown as a model of coexistence between architecture and landscape, the great protagonist.

Accordion House by FORarquitectura. Photograph by Juanca Lagares.

From the green olive grove, to the soil combed by furrows, from the steep profile of the mountains to a large green carpet that expands freely across the ground, and from the white and tile of the scattered rural buildings, to the blue sky that dominates them. A whole world of color, sensations and stimuli that mark the guidelines of the project to generate the least possible impact with the arrival of this new object. So much so, that the existing topography of the plot is respected to the maximum, excavating only the foundation trenches of the load-bearing walls that form each volume and keeping the rest of the plot free, only ordered by gravel paths and vegetation.

The built complex is composed of the concatenation of three large quadrangular prisms raised with very thick load-bearing walls sheltered by an extensive white wall that runs along the perimeter. An Andalusian farmhouse. Each volume has different heights depending on the spatial needs and following a bioclimatic strategy. By separating these pieces, flared exterior spaces are created which, through pressure changes, generate breezes that help to cool and regulate the temperature of the interior spaces in the warm season, as well as creating shaded exterior spaces. Likewise, the proximity and height between the pieces casts shadows on facades and roofs that reduce the high temperatures that these elements can reach due to excessive solar radiation, in addition to surrounding the house with vegetation and trees so that they function as a thermal and acoustic cushion.

Accordion House by FORarquitectura. Photograph by Juanca Lagares.

These volumes are joined by invisible bridges, generating a path that induces us to experience a series of sensations caused by the way in which the stimuli from the outside are perceived from the depths of the building.

In terms of the functional programme, the house is divided into three modules: the first one houses the garage and is therefore the closest to the entrance; the second and central one has two floors where we will find the bedrooms, bathrooms and kitchen; and finally the third one, the volume furthest from the entrance, connected via a bridge to the central piece and which is directly related to the exterior and the pool area.

More information

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Architects
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FORarquitectura. Lead architect.- Francisco Ortega Ruiz.

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Collaborators
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Quantity surveyor.- Juan Manuel Morales.

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Client
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Francisco Melgar Hoyos y Antonia Sánchez Madrid.

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Builder
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Construcciones Rivera Anaya.

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Area
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141.51 sqm.

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Dates
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2024.

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Localización
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Arriate, Málaga, Spain.

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Manufacturers
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Furniture.- Kave Home y Cocinas Dibe.
Coatings.- Peronda S.L. y Cerámicas Vilar Albaro S.L.
Lighting.- Faro Barcelona.
Thermal Insulation.- Fassa Bortolo.
Metal Carpentry.- Cortizo.

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Photography
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FORarquitectura is a studio based in Málaga founded in 2022 by Francisco Ortega Ruiz (Vélez-Málaga, 1991), an independent architect who graduated from the University of Granada in 2016. He began his professional career with Carmen Barros and Francisco del Corral (Walter Scales).

Training has been a constant in his career. It is worth noting that winning the first prize in the competition for the regeneration of the Paseo Marítimo de Melilla in the city of Malaga meant enrolling in the Master of Architectural Projects, Environmental Design and New Technologies at the Higher Technical School of Architecture of Malaga, obtaining an outstanding grade in the final research work of said master's degree.

This academic and practical experience marks the vision of FORarquitectura; studio that will specialize in traditional architecture, seeking the humanization of constructions, investigating artisanal construction methods and traditional materials, as well as their application in new buildings. Learning from what exists to look to the future.

In 2022, he won the Málaga Architecture Award in the Sustainability category with La Centinela. This milestone would mean subsequent publication on various specialized platforms at national and international level.

2024 is also an important year. He is once again awarded a runner-up prize at the Málaga Architecture Awards in the equipment category with the Raspa y Amagado project, with the subsequent appearance in publications in the sector. Both projects were selected for the CSCAE Architecture Awards in 2022 and 2023 and finalists in architecture awards convened by other platforms and magazines specialized in architecture.

Handmade architecture, with a young and dynamic look, which seeks to create works in constant relation to their context. Local works that are enriched by their surroundings and offer sensitive and creative solutions for those who live there. Handcrafted tools to convey ideas: models, drawings and sketches as arguments to inspire emotion with each project concept.

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Published on: February 20, 2025
Cite: "Integration by parts. Accordion House by FORarquitectura" METALOCUS. Accessed
<http://www.metalocus.es/en/news/integration-parts-accordion-house-forarquitectura> ISSN 1139-6415
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