CASA TMOLO
PYO arquitectos
year: 2007 – 2013
location: Granda de Abajo, Concejo de Parres, Asturias, Spain
type: commission
size: 414 m2
client: private
team:
architects: PYO arquitectos (Ophélie Herranz Lespagnol, Paul Galindo Pastre)
development design collaborator: Carlos Mínguez Carrasco
structure: Juan Rey (mecanismo)
building contractor: Roberto Labra Rodríguez
quantity surveyor: Fernando Suárez Otero

Before its conversion, the farmhouse was untouched for over five decades and needed a complete renovation to be adapted for contemporary needs. There were two construction sites: the main house and a stable. The main house was in a very bad condition, overgrown with vegetation, and numerous repairs had to be made to make it livable. The stone and timber structure of the stable was significantly deteriorated and most of the walls had to be replaced.

The position and materiality of the architecture was maintained although given the farm’s crumbling state, the new facade of the the main house was reconstructed with white concrete and local stone.

In the main house, an insulating lining forms the new load-bearing structure, reinforcing the old stone walls and providing thermal insulation. The parts of the façade formerly of stone and brick weatherboarding were replaced by a monolithic wall of insulating concrete with formwork which reproduces the former texture of the timber. Windows sit within deep recesses and can be screened behind large wooden shutters that reference the style of stable doors.

Located on a steep south facing mountain slope overlooking the valley, the main house clings to a site with a 2 meter difference in level between the north and the south facade. In harmony with the slope of the terrain, the staggered arrangement of the ground floor levels provides a sequence of connected spaces avoiding conventional interior partitions. In the interior, supporting walls were replaced by light metal pillars, opening up a large triple-height living room along the entire length of the building, which allows daylight to enter. A generous metal staircase gives access to the different rooms of the house.

A mix of white concrete and iron beams coexist with well-worn stone, weather-beaten wood and local stone. The interior space is organized around four diamond-shaped elements which run vertically through the house: the four muses, main characters in this family holiday home that refer to the client´s four daughters. On the first floor, two bedrooms are connected through a double-height space with views over the valley, leading to the main bedroom corner terrace.

In the stable, the haylofts on the upper floor were converted into bedrooms freeing the space on the ground floor for a large central lounge that serves different purposes.

Architects: PYO arquitectos

PYO ARQUITECTOS
http://www.pyoarquitectos.com

PYO arquitectos
[P] calle rodríguez san pedro 2,
10ª planta, oficina 1006, 28015 madrid
[T] +34 91 0120747
[E] info@pyoarquitectos.com


PYO ARQUITECTOS is an architecture office based in Madrid (Spain) directed by Ophélie Herranz Lespagnol (Angers, France, 1981) and Paul Galindo Pastre (Paris, France, 1980). After studying at the Lycée Français de Madrid, they graduated as architects at the School of Architecture of Madrid (ETSAM) in 2006 and 2007 respectively, and complemented their education with an academic year at the Faculty of Architecture at the Technical University of Delft (TU Delft) in the Netherlands. Since 2009 they are developing their research work as Phd candidates at the ETSAM as part of the Advanced Architectural Projects Program.

They have been invited as guest critics at the Haute École d’Art et de Design (HEAD) in Geneva (Switzerland), the ESAYT at Camilo José Cela University, and the ETSAM, both of them in Madrid. Paul has teached as assistant professor at ETSAM Architectural Projects Department during 2010 spring semester.

Before founding PYO arquitectos, they worked as project architects for Rafael Beneytez and Solid Arquitectura (Soto & Maroto Arquitectos) in Madrid, and for SOM (Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP) in New York. They are currently working in close collaboration with the architecture office NOMOS Groupement d’architectes based in Switzerland.

Ophélie and Paul have been working as a team since 2002, carrying out academic projects, taking part in local and international competitions in which they have obtained 5 first prizes, 3 second prizes, 1 accessit and 5 honourable mentions. Thay have won the following architecture competitions: Apartment building in Geneva (2012), Idensitat 07 (2006), Ofitec 2006 (2005), 400000 dwellings (2004), Zoom Neologisms for Chicago (2002).

Their built projects include the Casa Tmolo in Asturias (under construction) and an apartment renovation in Madrid (2011).

In 2013 they launch OPYO, as a section of PYO arquitectos focused on furniture design and edition.

Their work has been widely published in periodicals and books, among which we can briefly point out “Future”, “AV Proyectos”, “L’Arca”, “2G” and “Self-Sufficient Housing”. Their projects have also been subject of collective exhibitions in Spain, Italy, Portugal, The Netherlands, U.S.A. and Argentina. In 2007, PYO was selected to take part inFRESHFORWARD

Other projects from the architect