RR House

Ontinyent

The house is located in a residential area of detached villas on the outskirts of Ontinyent.

The plot, spanning approximately 60x30 meters, is split into a private garden to the south facing a hill covered in pine trees and a public garden to the north with direct access from the street.

The design aims to turn the site constraints into opportunities and seeks to bring the nature inside the house, benefiting from the exceptional Mediterranean weather conditions year-round.

The house is conceived around a central patio fostering natural daylight, ventilation and controlled views, featuring floor-to-ceiling windows and longitudinal porches that celebrate an indoor-outdoor lifestyle.

The interior layout results from optimizing each space lighting requirements following a careful analysis of the sun path through the seasons and studying the visual connections to the immediate surroundings. Using a spin-wheel diagram, a sequence of public and private spaces is arranged in an open plan around the central patio acting as a focal point, establishing a dialogue with the exterior areas that reinforces the feeling of lightness and transparency.

The main living spaces are open towards the main garden facing south-west orientation and enjoy the best lighting conditions and vistas whilst the northern facade is conceived as a juxtaposition of volumes in response to the site boundary, creating different layers of permeability to improve privacy.

From the exterior, the building is perceived as a group of floating boxes above ground, an outer envelope finished in white plaster with glass and wooden infills framing the intermediate porches. A distinctive dry stonewall chimney extends from the living room to the main porch, further reinforcing the visual connection between the garden and the house.

The landscape strategy aims to support biodiversity and recreate the natural patterns found in a typical Mediterranean landscape by combining shapes, textures, and colours in random patterns. A careful selection of over 20 different plant species is distributed strategically throughout the plot, enhancing the visual connection between the interior and exterior spaces.

To minimize reliance on fossil resources, the house incorporates an air source heat pump and solar panels, generating nearly all the required electricity and hot water on-site monitored by a home automation system resulting in highly energy efficient development.