Residential Complex in former farm
Spain CCC ES
Víctor López Cotelo
2002
Type
Collective dwelling
Tags
renovations, second life, Spain ccc
Visitability
Allowed
Description
This exemplary project was the result of a chance meeting between a developer who wanted to create housing projects that were different from the usual ones, motivated by something other than pure economic profit, and the architect Víctor López Cotelo. It consisted of converting an abandoned dairy into 21 dwellings on the outskirts of Santiago, where the rural and urban worlds meet. The three existing buildings, arranged in a linear fashion following the direction of the Sarela River, are preserved and adapted to new uses, while two additional structures are added. The dairy building has been adapted to accommodate 5 triplex units at the base and a further two units above, taking advantage of the height of the roof structure. The next building in the series, a linear stone volume, is adapted to house a further 8 residential units. To this end, overhanging volumes are added to the entrance gallery to accommodate the bedrooms of the upper residential units. The key to the intervention is to control the topography of the cultivation terraces. The volumes of the buildings are harmoniously distributed on different levels, delimited by stone walls and the vegetation of the area. In this way, the intervention seems to merge with nature. The inhabitants access their homes through a series of spaces at different levels, which continue to follow the riverbank. The variety of housing types allows different profiles of individuals and families to live together and to socialise in the extensive network of outdoor spaces.