Project: SIFERA House
Architects: Josep Camps and Olga Felip
Location: Barcelona, Spain
Photographs by: Pedro Pegenaute
SIFERA House by Josep Camps and Olga Felip
Josep Camps and Olga Felip is the Spanish studio behind the design of the SIFERA House located in the Caldes de Malavella municipality of Catalonia, Spain. This beautiful contemporary home revolves around a single, ground floor that is directly connected to a quite large outdoor space with an absolutely breathtaking infinity swimming pool.
Both of the interior and exterior finishes are pre-assembled which allowed the actual assembly process to be as short of a fortnight.
SIFERA House is based on the concept of pre-design where the project is worked on jointly with the manufacturers from the initial phases. The manufacturers develop a construction system for SIFERA based on pre-industrialization, pre-assembly and the use of easily recyclable materials. The dwelling is to be built and operable in under two months. The structure is made of large laminated wood panels with the sustainability seal FSC. The envelope and interior finishes, like base molding, furniture, etc. have been pre-assembled in a workshop to be mounted on site in a maximum of fifteen days per system.
The facades and roofs are ventilated and interconnected to improve the thermal insulation of the house in its entirety. The envelope systems do not depend on each other for their construction. For example, the low-emissivity glass panes are mounted interchangeably on the solid wood openings, improving the flexibility of on-site work.
Xerophytic gardening, low-maintenance lighting and water taps, recycling water for irrigation, solar panels, an automatic heating system, efficient appliances, the use of natural cellulose insulation… facilitate a good energetic control of the dwelling and complement passive systems like the location of patios towards the north, cross-ventilation, porches, and good orientation.
