From the architect. This unique entity occupies a dominant position in a rural landscape of vineyards and olive groves, set against a general background of medieval villages and rocky outcrops - in Cretas (Teruel, Spain) -. A bare horizontal volume is detached from the ground, suspended in an almost archaic time.
Transparent and monolithic, the building is balanced on top of a blind pedestal, in such a way that its outline is divided between an elevated portion visible from a distance and another that disappears behind the leaves of native plant species. The aerial realm of the platform indicates the cardinal points. A panoramic perimeter ring punctuated by sixteen columns placed at regular intervals accommodates a sequence of rooms with undefined functions.
These crystalline, symmetrical living spaces are mutually independent and are linked by four open terraces at their corners. This portico is too narrow to contain a static living room and too deep for a balcony- cum-viewing platform. In this aerial realm, the only closed room (in the center) is not roofed; its four walls are perforated at their central point, while the floor is of water (the gentlest paving known to man), which reflects the sky.
Via: pezo.cl, archdaily.com
Photographs: Cristobal Palma / Estudio Palma