Lorca, the municipality where the house is located, is known as the “City of the Sun”. Indeed, this enclave enjoys more than 300 sunny days on average per year, and even the mythological origin of the city is related to this circumstance. Eliocroca is usually accepted as its original name, and according to some theories this term could come from the combination of Helios (sun) and Kraton (government) to designate “the city governed by the Sun”.

This house is located in an environment that still remains mainly rural, despite the proliferation of housing developments for second homes or simply people who wish to live outside the city. Therefore, the typical rural housing model of the area comes to mind, which, like the city itself, is marked by its relationship with the sun. The “huerta” of Lorca (the area devoted to farming) is fundamentally composed of smallholdings that traditionally ensured the livelihood of a family, which in turn resided on these pieces of land, in houses attached to the northern boundary of the plot and facing south. In other words, the typical landscape of the area is a field of crops dotted with houses looking south. Our project imitates, and at the same time updates, that model.

Shaped as an elongated box along the largest dimension of the plot, the house is rotated with respect to its boundaries to seek the south orientation, as much as the setbacks of the planning regulations allow. In this way, an almost perfect positioning with respect to the cardinal points is achieved. The northern half of the floor plan is reserved for circulation and service spaces, while the living spaces are located in the southern half. The scheme is completed with a small free-standing volume, barbecue and toilet, which beside its practical functions, serves to block the powerful afternoon sun.

Making the house face the midday sun, seeking the health and well-being associated with good sun lighting, is a lesson we can draw from popular architecture and also one of the paradigms of Modernism. But at the same time, we know (as our ancestors did) that this exposure must be controlled, even more so in the context of climate change and global warming. The rural dwelling always placed in front of the south façade a vine supported by a minimal metal structure. As a deciduous plant, it protected the house from the sun in summer and allowed it in winter, brought coolness and provided food. It’s hard to get more benefits from such humble means. Unfortunately, the maintenance it requires leads in many cases to alternative solutions, such as the ones we find here. The south facade of the house, unlike the north one, is animated by a whole set of protruding and recessed elements whose role is to ensure a proper relationship with the sun. Among them we have the large cantilevered deck that protects the outdoor living area, an element that is separated from the facade itself by a glazed gap that reinforces its lightness and the continuity between inside and outside. We also have the provision of a large awning at its outer end to get additional protection at those times of the year when the sun is still low, but provides excessive heat. The large window box that unifies and protects the office and bedroom openings may be added to this list. And finally, retractable blinds with movable louvers are incorporated in these same openings, giving the inhabitant the possibility of actively controlling the incidence of sunlight.

Along with sun protection, ventilation is the other key element for thermal comfort in the house. In this case, a small courtyard next to the main entrance serves as a solar chimney to naturally force air circulation, both in the basement and on the ground floor. At the same time, it is a small green lung in the heart of the house that allows one of the homeowners to enjoy her passion for gardening.

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