Project: Limit House
Architects: Atheleia Arquitectura
Location: Sant Julia de Ramis, Spain
Area: 2,238 sf
Photographs by: Andres Arias – Documenta Studio
Limit House by Atheleia Arquitectura
The Limit House is a wonderful modern dwelling located in Sant Julia de Ramis, just north of Catalonia. This amazing house sits on the edge, between a hill and a valley. Its single story layout creates just over 2,200 square feet of minimalist modern living spaces with plenty of glazed surfaces to bring in natural light and open the interior up to the spectacular surroundings. The house was designed by Atheleia Arquitectura, the studio behind the design of the MM House in Montagut y Oix which we’ve showcased a while back.
The house is located in the north of Catalonia, among the gentle valleys of the first elevations of the hills between the regions of Pla de l’Estany and Gironès. The house sits on the edge between the hill and the valley with views over a cool and deep ground, surrounded by pine trees and holm oaks.
The property has a steep slope between the entrance, on the south side, and the bottom of the plot, on the north side. The composition of the house arises from a series of parallel walls that enhance the visual connections between the North and the South, bounded by the hill and the valley, between the two gardens of the residence. These parallel walls offer privacy with respect to neighboring houses and fold to form the service spaces to generate greater privacy from the street. At the same time, these walls are conceived as an element integrated into the landscape located on a level below the tops of the pines. This structure materializes in the concrete of an earthy color with a vertically jointed formwork that dialogues with the surrounding trees. The parallel organization of the walls intersects with a diagonal axis that arises from the orography of the location, creating the shape of the facades and the flow of the interior.
The floor is divided into five parallel parts that are related to each other following the geometry of the diagonal axis, generating different quality spaces both inside and outside. The first module contains the gymnasium and amenities; the second contains the living room, kitchen, and dining room. The third and fourth spaces include rooms for the little ones, two bedrooms, a games room, and a bathroom space. The last module contains the main bedroom, a bathroom, and a dressing room for the parents, with the exterior look facing the pool space.
The sustainability criteria have been taken into account during the process of conception and construction of the house. It has been designed with low energy consumption and low emissions, with an aerothermal system as the source for air conditioning, integrating an air renewal system with a heat recovery unit. Other passive energy design criteria have included the use of porches to protect the openings from solar incidence and using cross vents.
