House of Pantano de San Juan / Vicens + Ramos

Architect: Vicens + Ramos / Ignacio Vicens y Hualde, José Antonio Ramos Abengózar
Location: Guisando, Avila, Spain
Collaborators: Fernando Gil, Desirée González, Pablo Gutiérrez, Romina Barbieri, Joaquín Esperón, María José Muñoz, Raúl Rodríguez, Tibor Martín, Patricia de Elena, Javier Margarit
Project Year: 2003-2009
Photographs: Pablo Vicens

sections 01

The site was splendid; although there was a fire some years ago it is regenerating rapidly. It has a brilliant view of the San Juan reservoir. The house is an autonomous prism, closed off from the exterior with now and then apertures with view of the reservoirs landscapes. It is a weekend house, therefore it was asked of us to incorporate a controlled and manageable security system. In fact it is almost a concrete bunker, inaccessible and blinded from outsiders except the glass spaces which are high enough to pose no safety issues. In its exterior appearance the house is extraordinarily simple, it has a rectangular ground plan which gives natural solutions to the complexity of the program.

upper floor plan

Similar to the house Puerta de Hierro, the floating prism, in this project, creates a covered exterior space. Furthermore there are various patios which perforate the prism, introduction light in the interior and in the terrace; this will contribute appealing visual experiences, by combining the views of the nearby gardens and the distant landscape.

We had anticipated a smooth-faced concrete, framework and very carefully thought out process, as in our project in Pamplona. We were keen to vibration, the rhythm that introduces the serialization of the panels, patch cords, and the listels… But we saw that the concrete framework did not come out with the quality we wanted. So we decided to go with bush hammering. In the end, the solution was better than the earlier proposal. The finished work is a combination of rocky, gravelly, and at the same time with some visual smoothness.