simplicity love: House for a Photographer II

This house by Barcelona based architect Carlos Ferrater is located at the end of a plot in front of the sea, at the area Casas de Alcanar (Tarragona) in Spain.

The dwelling is composed in an abstract, sculptural way, consisting of three small buildings, irregular in plan and section, constructed on an elevated platform, due to the frequent floods in the area.

The in between open space that is formed from the position and shape of these built volumes, connects the house and frames the views to the mediterranean landscape and the sea.

All Photos © Alejo Bagué | Courtesy of OAB Carlos Ferrater

Description by OAB Carlos Ferrater

A 250 long by 18 meters wide plot perpendicular to the sea, with an arable area, leading from the beach itself to some old ruins, canes and lemon trees.

The house for the photographer II is at the end of the plot. Constructed on a platform 70 cm high above the level of natural floodable ground, three small irregular floor plan and section buildings dialogue through an empty space with fleeting views.

A palm grove with 52 Washingtonian palm trees leads us from the beach to the house.

The breakdown of the volumes is due to the conditions of the landscape, to the construction, and to the light which suggests a Picasso painting that was painted in the area and which is currently in the Picasso Museum in Paris.

The empty centre is thus converted into the main area of the house: a tense area, made up geometrically in its upper part by means of the high opaque bodies of the various pavilions, and on the floor plan up to a height of 2.10 meters in a continuous area connecting the various shady interior areas with view of the sea, the plant background and the living areas above the platform.

The play on volume decomposition reminds us of the Picasso cubist composition.