Like a white sculpture, this apartment building in Spain is interesting

At the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains in Spain, there's a valley formed by clay due to the constant erosion and impact from the Mediterranean Sea's regression. In this place called Guadix, there is an apartment building with 37 units that has a unique geological location due to these conditions. These geological changes have also influenced people's lives and construction methods in the area, transitioning from the so-called "casas-cueva" (cave houses) to the widespread use of clay bricks. Influenced by this, the Guadix apartment building uses large folded surfaces to create multi-faceted and highly sculptural volumes.

The architectural volume is excavated, giving the impression of a cave, allowing natural light to sculpt and shape the space. The apartment building is divided into three different strip areas: the outermost one (facade) filters sunlight through deep windows, providing ample depth for storage within the apartments. The middle strip area houses all the different rooms of the apartments and can also create a continuous space without separate rooms.

The final strip area, serving as support facilities, accommodates kitchens and bathrooms to meet the various needs of daily life. The ground floor of the building is excavated, reducing the number of apartments and connecting different internal open spaces, thus creating a continuous, sculptural space within the building.

   　Project Information

　　Address: Spain

　　Architect:: Studio Wet, Antonio G. Liñán

　　Area: 4636 m²

　　Project year: 2012

　　Photorapher: Fernando Alda

　　Collaborator: Daniel Yusty, Arquitecto Técnico (Mediciones), Francisco León Muñoz, estudiante. Manuel Sánchez, Manuel Caba (Aparejadores, Dirección Obra).

　　Customer: Empresa Pública de Suelo de Andalucía

　　Company name: Jubuconsa

　　Budget: 2,9Mill €