Matola House by Jaime Sepulcre

Description of project by Jaime Sepulcre Arquitecturas 

This house is a hybrid of several types of houses: first of all the first thing it wants is to be a "house of the Camp d'Elx", as those still populate the rural districts with its peculiar silhouette, whose traditional architecture makes use of ceramic decks inclined and the deep porches -for shade- oriented at noon; But at the same time it also wants to be a "house-patio Mediterranean", introverted, protected from the outside and purely white; And also has in its genetics a "Californian house", one of those sophisticated houses of the admired modern architecture of Los Angeles -with whom we share Mediterranean climate- that unfold their plants -many L shaped- in open horizontal spaces which overlook the gardens and the refreshing swimming pools.

As a Mediterranean house, a vital piece of this project is the patio. The patio is a space that widens and multiplies the experiences of the house, and contributes to blur the boundary between the inside and the outside. As it is located in the entrance area of ​​the house, it makes the arrival a very special moment, in fact the whole vestibular space is around the patio. In this house also has been used the patio to articulate the transition from one part to the other, clearly separating the common area from the private area of ​​the bedrooms. And finally the most exciting thing about a patio is that it is an 'open-air room' that captures and filters light at different times of the day and year, filling the interior with very different nuances and very changing situations.

Another main part of the house is the kitchen. Around it is generated the whole 'family life' and will undoubtedly become the heart of the house in a multitude of moments and circumstances. That is why the kitchen is completely open to the rest of the house, a decision that also seeks the democratization of domestic roles and, above all, the idea of ​​living and enjoying the entire interior landscape of the house. To reinforce this nuclear idea of ​​the kitchen, it is located in the same baryonenter of the common space to precisely be able to dominate visually from that point all the common spaces -dining room, living room, courtyard and study-library- and all exterior spaces -porche, garden and swimming pool.