The refuge is self-sufficient thanks to its energy and waste management, the generation of photovoltaic energy, and the recycling of water through the introduction of mesh fog traps, snow wells, separate networks and their reuse.
Project description by COR Asociados Arquitectos
A construction was required that would accommodate a refuge for an artist and that would also function as a temporary home. There was a piece of land located in the interior of the province of Alicante, in a place where the Mediterranean forest generated a unique landscape.
This condition of the place allowed to enjoy the surroundings thanks to the transparency and exposure of the interior spaces.
The geometry is born from a reinterpretation of "snow wells" existing in the area. Wells dug into the ground with retaining walls that have openings for the introduction of snow and later the extraction of ice, its purpose being to conserve the ice so that it can be used later. This idea of a well made it possible to generate a self-sufficiency system for the shelter, where in winter its cover becomes its snow well and in summer it becomes a swimming pool. This shape of well allowed to generate views to all the cardinal points from the interior and exterior.
The workshop is located on the ground floor, semi-buried with light from the north and west. On the next floor is the minimum housing and on the roof we find the pool.
The shelter is self-sufficient, reprogrammable. Self-sufficient thanks to its energy and waste management, the generation of photovoltaic energy, and the recycling of water through the introduction of mesh fog traps, snow wells, separate networks and their reuse.
It is a programmable space that can be redefined and reused in real time, which can accommodate everything from the sculptor in a "lonely dream" to a family gathering. With an intimate relationship with the surrounding landscape, because it is inserted between the tops of the pine trees as an artificial object capable of being colonized by mosses and lichens in the area, thus achieving a chromatic mimicry with the landscape. Understood as a contemplative place but not as a place of experimentation, a place to find paths and thoughts.
