Text description provided by the architects. The project is developed on a rectangular plot of about 1000 m2 in the Balcón del Tajo urbanization, near Aranjuez city. The plot drops 5 meters between the short sides. The views to the south are excellent, as you can see a very extensive landscape, with the Tajo river in the background. The program is for two independent houses, one small, like an apartment, for a lifelong friend, Luis, who lives alone; and the other with two bedrooms, for his sister, his partner and his daughter. Also a common warehouse and small swimming pool.
The project tries to take advantage of the views to the south and east, and to give the greatest degree of independence and privacy to both homes. Life outside the home are privileged or at least equated to life inside.
Despite focusing the project to be as economical as possible, the budgets we had were exorbitant, always above 2000 euros per square meter. The decision is made to self-build. There will be no construction company, no subcontractors, no construction manager, only the project management, a formworker then unemployed, Roberto, who will act as manager, and Luis, my friend, with no knowledge of construction, who will work as a laborer.
The construction systems are chosen for their ease of execution and are at the service of maintaining the most comfortable temperature possible inside the house with the lowest possible expenditure. The roof and the façade are ventilated. Both contribute to the good hygrothermal functioning of the envelope, which has proven to be very easy to heat in winter (a single pellet stove per house) and very cool in summer.
The structure is made of load-bearing walls, which will be visible to the interior. The façade and roof are made of white sheet metal, chosen to be as reflective as possible, to avoid overheating in summer.
The construction management has not been conventional at all. Beyond any justification for a result that we consider reasonable, no detail or finish is understandable without taking into account the circumstances described. The price of the final construction is around 1200 euros/m2, including the pool and the urbanization of the plot.
Project gallery
Project location
Address:C/ Almonte 40, Balcón del Tajo Urbanization. Colmenar de Oreja, Madrid, Spain
Location to be used only as a reference. It could indicate city/country but not exact address.
Cite: “House for Two Brothers / Pablo Bris Marino” [Casa para dos hermanos / Pablo Bris Marino] 08 Jan 2025. ArchDaily. Accessed .
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