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Sumit Singhal
Sumit Singhal loves modern architecture. He comes from a family of builders who have built more than 20 projects in the last ten years near Delhi in India. He has recently started writing about the architectural projects that catch his imagination. Casa de les Porxades in Albal, Spain by ENDALT ArquitectesMay 1st, 2023 by Sumit Singhal
Article source: ENDALT Arquitectes The destruction of l’Horta of València, one of the main cultural and environmental values of the metropolitan area of the city, has been a constant in our territory. Within the framework of a recently created urbanization that is destroying part of this heritage, Casa de les Porxades is born with the intention of recovering and giving meaning to the architecture of the past in the territory on which it is built, while taking advantage of the lessons of sustainability and landscape integration of vernacular architecture from a contemporary vision and language. Formally, the house follows the path of the alquerías, rural houses linked to an agricultural exploitation, that we find a few meters from this urbanization surrounded by orchards; buildings composed of a main two-sided volume to which other volumes with diverse geometries are attached: with sloping roofs, flat roofs, porches, etc. This also gives off an air of organic growth characteristic of traditional architecture.  Image Courtesy © David Zarzoso
 Image Courtesy © David Zarzoso The house is named after its cantilevered porches, such a Mediterranean element that creates filters between the interior and exterior space. These porches play a fundamental role in the project, as the owners’ desire was to enjoy a shaded terrace for the summer that would not be impractical on rainy days. Thus, it was decided to reference those porches of traditional architecture in the area but extending the floors of the house towards the outside. Their dimensions and southeast orientation help protect the interior from excessive solar radiation in summer but allow it to penetrate the house in winter. This is one of the bioclimatic strategies of the house, which bets on passive solutions that help to climatize the house throughout the year naturally, minimizing energy consumption. For the openings on the upper floor, the strategy is different, since in addition to the need to generate shade to control the incidence of solar radiation on the glass, there is also the need for privacy and visual control. Therefore, another element of the place is used: the alicantinas blinds.  Image Courtesy © David Zarzoso  Image Courtesy © David Zarzoso The house is organized around a small interior patio, which evokes the significance and social function of Wright’s chimneys, and to which all the socialization spaces turn. Spaces rethought for contemporary living where Mediterranean culture is also reflected in their use. The kitchen, for example, takes on an indisputable role and ceases to be a residual space, hosting a multitude of activities linked to both the living areas and the terraces and patio. In this case, an outdoor meeting space, a visual reference from the interior thanks to its privileged location in the house, and which also has an important climatic function. Its height and the disposition of the tilt-and-turn windows in the upper part of the openings make this space act by convection, cooling the house in a passive way. Ceramics, as a traditional material, becomes the protagonist, contrasting its color, geometry, and the play of light it creates in its application on the ground floor with the flatness and neatness of the volumes on the first floor. Thus, the project is based on what is nearby, on construction systems and materials known by the builders of the place. It avoids complex solutions and takes refuge in the experience of those who must build it.  Image Courtesy © David Zarzoso  Image Courtesy © David Zarzoso Expansion The destruction of the l’Horta of València, one of the main cultural and environmental values of the metropolitan area of the city, has been a constant in our territory in recent decades. Within the framework of a recent development that is destroying part of this heritage, the Casa de les Porxades is born with the aim of recovering and giving meaning to the architecture of the past in the territory on which it is built. Traditionally, the scattered constructions that emerge in l’Horta always appear linked to the agricultural exploitation of the territory. Thus, farmhouses, ceberes, senias, or small buildings to store tools arise. All these constructions revolve around the same axis: vernacular architecture, the one that the user builds and which is the result of the accumulated experience over generations. This is the starting point for a house that wants to honour the territory, its inhabitants, and the collective knowledge of so many generations who inhabited it, while taking advantage of the lessons of sustainability and landscape integration of traditional vernacular architecture from a contemporary vision and language. Thus, it pursues the idea of the modern architect Frank Lloyd Wright when he wrote that “architecture should belong to the environment where it is located and adorn the landscape instead of disgracing it.”  Image Courtesy © David Zarzoso  Image Courtesy © David Zarzoso Formally, the house follows the path of the farmhouses that we find a few meters from this development surrounded by orchards; buildings composed of a main volume with two waters to which other volumes with diverse geometries are attached: with sloping roofs, flat roofs, porches, small buildings for tools, etc. This also gives off an air of organic growth typical of traditional architecture. This organic architecture that is pursued in the project, and which is the heir of the place, also responds to a willingness to learn from the masters of architecture such as Wright in his prairie houses, who also references the use of cantilevers and the creation of something as Mediterranean as filters between the interior and exterior space, which at the same time blur the boundary between public and private. The cantilevers play a fundamental role in the project since the owners’ desire was to enjoy a shaded terrace for the summer that would not be impractical on rainy days. Thus, it was decided to reference those porches of the traditional architecture of the area but this time extending the floors of the house to the outside. The dimensions of these porches and their orientation in the southeast help protect the interior from excessive solar radiation in summer, but allow it to penetrate the house during winter. This is one of the bioclimatic strategies of the house, thus betting on passive solutions that help climate the house naturally throughout the year, minimizing energy consumption. For the openings on the upper floor, the strategy is different, as the need to generate shade to control the incidence of solar radiation on the glass is added to the need for privacy and control of visuals. Therefore, another element of the traditional architecture of the area is used: the alicantinas blinds. Image Courtesy © David Zarzoso  Image Courtesy © David Zarzoso In his homes, Wright already understood that the fireplace – the hearth – was the heart of the home, and the layout of the house was organized around this space. The RAE (Royal Spanish Academy) defines “hogar” (home) in its first acceptance as the place where fire is made in the kitchen, the fireplace; in its second, as the house or domicile; and in third place, as the family or group of people who live together, combining in a single term the user and the architecture. This project takes up the torch of this influential modern architect with a new Mediterranean interpretation. The entire home is organized around a small interior patio, like a fireplace, and all social spaces lead directly to it. Spaces reimagined for contemporary living where Mediterranean culture is also reflected in social use. The kitchen, for example, takes on an indisputable role and is no longer a residual space, welcoming many activities linked to both the living area and the terraces and patio. In this case, an outdoor gathering space, a visual reference from the interior thanks to its privileged location in the house. The desire for the home to grow around the patio is also reflected in the gesture that determines the direction of the walls, which ends up collecting the home with the same gesture in the furthest part of the patio. This central patio has also another important climatic function. Its height and the arrangement of the top-hinged windows in the upper part of the openings cause this space to act by convection, passively cooling the home: it collects the warmer air from the interior of the home and expels it through the upper part of the patio.  Image Courtesy © David Zarzoso  Image Courtesy © David Zarzoso Once again, the context of the environment in which it is built is used for the materiality. It starts with humble materials rooted in the environment, such as ceramics, and gives them back the relevance they enjoy in traditional architecture because contemporary architecture does not always require new materials, but rather the nobility and sincere value of tradition and its humanization. Thus, ceramics become the protagonist material of the home, contrasting its color, geometry, and the play of light it creates on the ground floor with the flatness and cleanliness of the volumes on the first floor. The ground floor of the home, thanks to the use of this traditional material, becomes a base on which the horizontal plane that confirms the slab and the cantilevers rests, thus helping to maintain a scale on which the horizontal component predominates. Therefore, the project is based on what is close, on construction systems and materials known by the local builders. It shuns complex solutions and takes refuge in the experience of those who must build it.  Image Courtesy © David Zarzoso  Image Courtesy © David Zarzoso  Image Courtesy © David Zarzoso  Image Courtesy © David Zarzoso  Image Courtesy © David Zarzoso  Image Courtesy © ENDALT Arquitectes  Image Courtesy © ENDALT Arquitectes  Image Courtesy © ENDALT Arquitectes  Image Courtesy © ENDALT Arquitectes
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