Yesterday I went for a walk, earlier in the day it was too hot so waited to take advantage of when the sun would begin to descend towards the horizon and the weather would finally be refreshing!
QUE HOUSE. TOLEDO, SPAIN.
Status: Licensing Process.
Project Year: 2020-.
Location: Mascaraque, Toledo, Spain.
Area: 192 m2. Design: OOIIO Architecture.
Interior Design: OOIIO Architecture
Team: Joaquín Millán Villamuelas, Federica Aridon Mamolar, Jesús Reyes García, Gizem Alparslan, Isabela Manglallan
Client: Private.
The streets of the town were deserted, as almost always. Occasionally a stealthy cat would cross in the distance without taking its eyes off me, it would eventually quickly duck under cover of the nearest car. The silence was only broken by the songs of the swallows and the occasional dog that barked when it heard my footsteps from afar.
I looked at the houses around me, one after another. I looked at their windows, the bars, the shutters, the cornices… the small differences between them.
But… why do all these houses have to be the same?
Who was the first to decide that a house had to be like this?
Why did all the neighbors want a house like the ones next door?
Each one of us, each family, is different. We do not all live the same, we do not have the same customs, nor do we do the same as our neighbors. Therefore, why does my house have to be like the others?… if I’m not like the others…
So I imagined QUE House
Imagine a house as a shell, an envelope that creates a void inside, protecting occupants from the sun and the rain.
This envelope will continue to the roof and it will rise as necessary to configure two heights in the occupied day area, then it will descend one height in the occupied night area as well as the garage.
The envelope extends towards the street and the patio to provide shade, creating a pleasant porch facing the garden and a social space to sit and talk with the neighbors towards the street.
The interior space will be enclosed with two facades made up of cost effective, simple materiality…. Mmmmm… brick! And we will organize its assembly with different rigs, forming a fun collage. Windows and doors will be blue-green.
The interior will be functional, comfortable and reasonably priced while still using durable materials. The yellow tones and the warmth of the orange of the exposed ceramics as well as the OSB wood boards will be showcased and emphasized by the abundance of natural light that enters the home.
I want a work space upstairs, quiet, to concentrate better. And the house will have a bridge, which crosses a double height space and goes out through the facade to the outside, to a balcony that overlooks my garden.
Can you imagine? What if it were possible to make such a house?
Different, like me, how I like to live. Easy to build and not expensive, I don’t need opulent materials. It’s a matter of letting your imagination fly and having fun.
