In the northeast of Spain, in the city of Girona, the Catalan studio Sau Taller d'Arquitectura has designed the Casa Muntanya. The single-family house between party walls is built on intermediate levels and with staggered volumetry.

A characteristic to highlight in this project is the free heights that respond to the specifications of the functional program, where each of the levels is set back concerning the lower one. By staggering the section, light and sunlight are guaranteed to all spaces, in addition to providing each level with an outdoor space.
In the project of Sau Taller d'Arquitectura, all facilities and services are centralized in the party walls to free the facades and ensure the maximum relationship with the exterior spaces.

The house is developed with a vertical metallic structure and slabs of collaborating sheet metal that allows providing the space with large spans and middle levels. A limited palette of colors and materials is used to generate support that allows adapting the space according to the user's needs.
 

Description of project by Sau Taller d’Arquitectura

The project is understood from the section.

With the orientation of the building working in favour (courtyard to the south and street to the north), and with the aim of meeting the requirements of accessibility in the courtyard and direct sunlight to as many rooms as possible, a house is planned on intermediate levels and with a staggered volumetry. The functional program is organized according to these guidelines:

The garage, which is located on the street, is the only piece that does not have direct sunlight, although it is illuminated from above through the upper floor.

The living room-kitchen-dining room, on the level of the patio, benefits from the garden and a large porch. This is the highest space in the house, with a ceiling height of 3.5m and large openings to the courtyard that blur the boundaries between inside and outside.

Above the living room and half a level above the street, we find the main suite and another bedroom. Both open onto a continuous balcony that provides a small access to the outside.

Finally, above the garage, we have a studio linked to a large solarium terrace. From this space some cells hang as small extensions of the main space.

The ceiling heights respond to the specifications of the functional program. Thus, the living room-kitchen-dining room (pb) and the study (p2) are two spaces with clear heights that exceed 3m. Both spaces are closely connected to large outdoor spaces (the garden and the solarium terrace) and the more public life of the house. On the other hand, the suite and the bedroom on the second floor have a height of 2.5m. In this way, the space is limited, and a more private and secluded vocation is achieved.

Each of the levels is withdrawn to the rear with respect to the lower one. By staggering the section, light and solar exposure are ensured to all the spaces, in addition to providing each level with an outdoor space.

The living room-kitchen-dining room is connected to the garden and daily use; the suite, to a private and intimate balcony; and the studio, to a large sun terrace.

On the other hand, all facilities and services are concentrated in the party walls, thus releasing the facades and ensuring the maximum relationship with the outdoor areas.

The vertical metallic structure and the sheet metal floor slabs allow to play with large spans and mid-levels.

The sheet metal of the roofs acts as a light reflector, diffusing light from the facades to the interior of the house.

There is no cladding or ornamentation, that is, the space is untreated: concrete, metal structure and birch wood. A limited palette of colours and materials with the aim of providing a support that allows the user to adapt and adapt it according to their requirements.

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Collaborators
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Developer
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Private.
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Area
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245 sqm.
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Dates
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2021.
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Location
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Gerona, Spain.
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SAU Taller d´Arquitectura is a multigenerational and multidisciplinary architecture studio born in Sant Joan de les Abadesses and is currently also established in Barcelona and Puigcerdà. Their professional activity encompasses projects of planning, landscape, architecture and product design. The main objective is to provide an efficient response to the challenges posed by each project, making functionality and rationality the main pillars of our professional practice.

Simplicity and constructive austerity are an added value of their projects. Projects committed to the environment and tradition and designed to make life easier for its users without renouncing the emotional capacity of the architecture itself.

They understand the project from its entirety. Let us suppose, therefore, key aspects such as the structural calculation, facilities or the energy and climate control of our projects and introduced them from the beginning of the project process.

They have structured the team in three areas of work: productive area, which is responsible for responding to the administrative aspects of each project; Creative area, that works the aspects more related to the technical, formal and functional result of the proposals, and the area of ​​work management, that looks for the correct execution and operation of the construction process.

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Published on: September 3, 2021
Cite: "Family House between party walls. Muntanya House by Sau Taller d’Arquitectura" METALOCUS. Accessed
<http://www.metalocus.es/en/news/family-house-between-party-walls-muntanya-house-sau-taller-darquitectura> ISSN 1139-6415
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