CU4 arquitectura studio has completely refurbished a century-old village house in the county of l'Horta Nord, very close to the city of Valencia, flooding the rooms with light and benefiting from a thorough energy refurbishment, giving the property a new lease of life.
This family home occupies an area of 280 square metres spread over two floors, plus a large backyard of 130 square metres with direct access to the surrounding agricultural orchard.
'The family, which consists of six people, had found a spacious house in an uncluttered environment connected to the natural surroundings. They were looking for the tranquillity of country life, but in an urban environment. The starting point was very interesting. However, the entire upper floor retained its previous status as an agricultural barn and required a completely new design and layout to incorporate that space into the new dwelling. In addition, from a technical point of view, it was necessary to renovate all the installations,' explains architect Anna Ferrer of CU4 arquitectura.
The studio's team analysed the state of the wood of the structure and practically managed to conserve the entire ground floor ceiling and the main ridge beam of the roof.
In the architectural project, the entire day area was concentrated on the ground floor and turned towards the rear courtyard to maximise the entry of light and improve the connection with the outdoor space. A strip of windows was created over the existing windows on the ground floor and, in the case of the upper floor, new windows were opened towards the kitchen in the same direction, creating a spacious double-height volume filled with natural light.
'The most important thing for us was, on the one hand, to preserve the original essence of the house and, on the other, for it to be warm and full of light, with today's comfort levels,' says Manuel MartÃn of CU4 arquitectura.
The house has four bedrooms, two of which are located on the ground floor, together with a bathroom, and the other two on the second floor, with two more bathrooms.
In the master bedroom, both the bathroom and the dressing room area and bookcases have been integrated to preserve the sensation of the gable roof and maintain the visual continuity of the entire space. In this way, light floods the entire length of the bedroom.
'We wanted the materials to be cosy at all times, with a vintage touch, in line with the age of the house. In each room, we adapted the aesthetics and finishes to the space and the person who is going to live in it, as in the case of the bedroom spaces,' says Ferrer.
For the energy adaptation of the house, a proposal was drawn up on how the house should be to make it as comfortable as a newly built home. Insulation, glass and window profiles were improved and replaced with wooden frames that comply with current regulations.
More information:
CU4 arquitectura
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