Aguzanieves

Galapagar, Spain

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Aguzanieves

Galapagar, Spain

Firm

NACHO LECHON arquitectura

Type

Residential › Private House

STATUS

Built

YEAR

2025

SIZE

1000 sqft - 3000 sqft

BUDGET

$100K - 500K

Aguzanieves Pablo’s House

Some time ago, Pablo, our son, asked us to help him find a place to live again in Spain.

After months of searching, this plot appeared, with a ruin on it. On our very first visit, it already seemed incredible to us.

It turned out to be the first project by three young architects: Manuel de las Casas, Professor of Design; Javier Seguí, Professor of Form Analysis; and Santiago López, Professor of Analysis. All three had once been our teachers.

We did some research and discovered that the building was listed. We ended up at the archive of the COAM (Official College of Architects of Madrid), where we were able to access the original project: barely a dozen drawings, and even less in terms of written report and budget. The project had been drafted in 1968.

In the report, the architects outlined the fundamental ideas of the project:

a) To leave the site in its current state, elevating the building to reach the level of the rock platforms so they could be used.
b) The use of a 2.70 × 2.70 × 2.70 m spatial module to generate all spaces.
c) The possibility of expansion, determined by the use of the module.
d) The experimentability and transformability of the spaces, according to uses and seasons.
e) Construction: based on the previous premises, the aim was to find a type of building system that, without becoming full prefabrication—impossible at the time in rural contexts and at acceptable prices—could approach it and be suitable for future extensions.

The project is strikingly modern. More than fifty years later, its ideas of versatility and the fluidity of the living spaces remain surprising.

We needed to complete those aspects that, at the time, technical limitations and the skills of local builders had not allowed them to achieve.

It became a beautiful conversation full of paradoxes: speaking across more than fifty years with young architects who later became our professors, contributing our experience and the technology that could finally make their ideas possible.

We devised a prefabricated and modular façade system using high-strength timber panels (LVL and three-layer solid wood) capable of absorbing structural tolerances and responding to bracing requirements, while also serving as enclosure, insulation, and interior lining.

It is a building conceived in the spirit of the Modern Movement, with bold and innovative constructive solutions inspired by the architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright and his interpretation of Japanese architecture.

Its relationship with nature is one of respect and quiet observation, without alteration. The building rests upon the rocks, which pass beneath it.

The entrance is a subtle invitation, through a compressed space that limits your field of vision while you are upright, in transition. Once inside and seated, you gain a perfect perception of the place—the horizon, the infinite view, the calm and stillness of the surrounding landscape.

Inside, the layout is elemental: a single open space during the day, with two circulation corridors that allow you to grasp the entirety of the house. It can be closed off to create the sleeping quarters, whose dimensions are almost monastic in scale. Each has its own connection to nature.

There is only one bathroom.

The kitchen is freed from boundaries so it can fully enjoy the views.

The only enclosed cabin is the toilet, yet even there the landscape is visible through a play of mirrors.

The original project also explored those transitional spaces characteristic of Japanese architecture, and the terrace that wraps around the house functions in this way.

Careful! When stepping outside, you must look down: the house separates from the terrace along its entire perimeter with a 10 cm gap. And if you go onto the rocks, bow your head—it is necessary to make a gesture of reverence.

Throughout the process, we were reminded of the complexity contained within the simplicity of good architecture, and how just a few concepts can organize an entire project and determine both its conception and execution.

In the end, Pablo has given us the gift of rediscovering the happiness of making architecture.

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Aguzanieves

Galapagar, Spain

Aguzanieves

Galapagar, Spain

Product Spec Sheet

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