Merigo house- Alberto Campo Baeza

A clear division is established in this house between the parents and childrens areas, placed in two blocks around a shared courtyard. In both zones, the bedrooms are upstairs, more independent and closed, while downstairs the living areas are more transparent, open to the shared courtyard. The entire lower part is thus perceived as a single space of great transparency, defined by the exterior walls and including the swimming pool, in an interesting play of continuous covered and uncovered spaces. In the parents area, closer to the entrance, the bedroom is at the top of the building, freeing a double height for the common living space below. The childrens zone, in the back, occupies its two high floors with bedrooms and allows for greater independence. In both areas, the roof terrace is incorporated as a private space, isolated with high walls formed by the same plane and material as the facade. The entire lower part is fabricated of exposed concrete and glass, while above the two boxes supported on it are very closed, finished with matte stainless steel panels. The house looks bigger than it is because of the effects of perspective within the continuous spaces on the ground floor.

Tomford House-Campo B.
On the outskirts of Santa Fe, on a pine-covered sloped site facing north, the house is planned as a complex formed by various pavilions: a main house adapted from an existing structure, two new pavilions, and a pool. In both the main house and the guest house, diagonal spaces are created that are tensed by diagonal light. The second pavilion is a horizontal space, while the pool is a box open to the sky. Four boxes tensed by light, four traps to capture light: the intense light of Santa Fe. The essentiality of the project, prismatic elements, strong openings to the light, adobe as the basic building material, confers a special solidity to this architecture which although based in the past becomes a proposal for the future. The house, for the master of design Tom Ford, did not obtained any building permit from the local authorities, that demanded a more Spanish style.

Gaspar House-a c b
At the clients insistence on absolute independence, it was decided to create an enclosed precinct, a hortus conclusus or closed grove. The house, defined by four enclosure walls of 3.5 meters, is based on a square measuring 18 x 18 meters which is subdivided into three equal parts. Only the central portion is roofed. The square is then divided transversely by two, 2 meter high, walls into three parts with the proportions A, 2A, A, the service pieces being located on the sides. The roof of the central space is taller, 4.5 meters high. At the points where the low walls intersect with the taller ones, four openings of 2 x 2 meters are made and simply glazed. It is through these four openings that the horizontal plane of stone paving expands, effectively obtaining a continuity of interior and exterior. The white color of all the parameters contributes to the clarity and continuity of the architecture. The double symmetry of the composition is emphasized by the symmetric placement of four lemon trees, which produce contemplative reflections. The Light in this house is horizontal and continuous, mirrored by the east-west orientation of the courtyard walls. Simply, a horizontal, continuous, space is tensed by a horizontal light.

Showroom
Collaborator: Antonio Domnguez The intention was to recover the power of the original stone facade and elaborate a space, although small and obscure, full of light and giving the impression of spaciousness. While at the same time, forming a solution which guaranties the stores security during the hours it is closed. The original stone facade is thus left clean, the precise composition of the lower part of the building, with four stone arches, made evident. A diaphanous interior is created, glazing the entire narrow street facade, and aptly placing mirrors facing one another on the longitudinal walls. The ceiling, entirely black from a certain height, is studded with lights which, reflected by the mirrors, orderedly multiply to infinity. Like a star filled sky. Finally, the space is closed to the street by thick and weighty black lacquered steel doors which, more than just being secure, have that appearance. In the doors, at the eye-level of the passerby, a horizontal incision is carved which permits a suggestive view of the stores interior when it is closed. The subtle separation of this door from the edges of the stone opening, reinforce both its strength and the purity of facades opening in an efficient operation of contrasts. It is as if the door leads to that star studded sky.

Turegano House
This house is the result of a competition the owners called for amongst their architect friends. The topography, midway down a hillside, the rigorous compliance with building codes, and the maximum economy of means were compositionally resolved in a white and cubic hut that measures 10 x 10 x 10 meters. The white cube is divided in two: the northern half, with the service areas, and the southern half, with the served spaces. The first includes a central strip with bathrooms, water-closets, and stairs. The bedrooms and the kitchen face directly north. The living room and dining room, located in the served half, are of double height, with the study in the highest point. The study peers over the dining room, which in turn looks upon the living room, thus producing a diagonal space of triple height. The cubic nature of this white hut is accentuated by the window glazings flush with the facade, and by the color white with which all is resolved. Light, the central theme of this house, is gathered, captured, by windows and slots as it makes its journey from east to southwest, becoming, in its movement, the spatial protagonist of this project. Simply, it is a diagonal space pierced by a diagonal light.