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3 VPO HOUSES

MONTORO, CORDOBA

A small group of houses is projected in one of the existing free plots on the edge of the town with the void of the meander of the river, in the interior of the Andalusian municipality of Montoro.

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A spongy complex is proposed where emptiness predominates over full and special attention is paid to the fit with the orography of the land and with the rest of the elements of the urban complex. Sensitivity to the environment and its knowledge does not entail mimesis with the traditional forms of construction of existing houses or with the dimensions of their areas.

The program consists of three houses for a couple with a child, so that there is a common area for all three that allows a transition between the public spaces outside the plot and the interiors of each house. Therefore, a contemporary way of living is proposed in the municipality of Montoro without having to resort directly to the image or traditional way of construction of the already known architectural models, which is why the dispensable “comforts” are detected and essentials found in current housing standards and which ones need to be incorporated. The work is based on the section of the complex, where the relationship with the access street and the lower one becomes important, for which a solution with a stone wall as a plinth, which houses vegetation, is proposed as a starting point.

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After an analysis of the outdoor spaces incorporated into each home, it is ensured that many of the basic functions are developed in those attached free spaces. The views from the resulting volume towards the river and the landscape are considered a starting point of the project, essential in the resolution of its interior spaces, these intangible elements being the most important factors in the soul of the project.

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Taking into account the situation of the plot, the existing orography as well as the adjoining dividing walls take on special importance, facts to take into account when planning the new home. The image of the new façade that will be projected onto the landscape, as well as the permeability between the upper and lower streets, also becomes relevant.

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The adaptation with the different heights of the plot is solved thanks to the implementation of two duplex-type volumes that connect the two streets that delimit the plot and that house interior spaces that are projected for common use by the users.

The introduction of a third piece gives a sense of the whole that allows the project to be read as a single volume and not a succession of pieces. The upper element, in addition to providing an alternative type of housing to the complex, allows generating an entrance space necessary for the accessibility of the project.

The views, the light and the social possibilities of strengthening neighboring relationships with other users favor the creation of common spaces that give the intervention an alternative to the current common social housing and proposes a new concept that encourages habitability among users of the same living place.

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