Spanish architects asensio_mah have designed a house on a steep site in the north of Spain.

Called Q-House, the building consists of three intersecting volumes arranged around a central circulation space.

Differently-textured composite panels clad the exterior of each volume, emphasising the distinction between them.

The surrounding gardens have been designed in the form of terraces.

Photographs are by Ricardo Loureiro.

Here's some information from the architects:

--

The house is a conscious exercise in developing an alternative domestic environment to the surrounding villas of the new suburban neighborhood.  The solutions for the development so far have typically been compact villas located on abruptly leveled gardens, irrespective of the complex topographical condition of their sites.  Our ambition for producing an alternative domestic atmosphere is developed by constructing a more explicit relationship between the house and garden with the existing conditions of the steep site.  This organizational strategy for the house sought to register the difference in topography within the parcel by organizing a series of terraces that configure the framework for a landscape with differentiated characters.  This deliberate geometric configuration affords multiple readings of the outline of the house while facilitating a rich experiential lifestyle within its volume and landscape.  Specific organizational and material strategies were developed to produce different volumetric and perceptual readings that change with the different vantage points towards and within the house.

The building is organized in three bands that are arranged around a central circulation core. These three bands maintain a prevailing orientation in the northeast-southwest direction to secure maximum daylight in every room.  While the bands configure and organize the different rooms, the circulation core underpins a switchback pattern of shifting orientations with the gradual vertical movement through the house.

The house is clad in dark “composite” panels that have been customized with digital fabrication techniques.  These customized panels are used to articulate sections of the house volume in order to introduce legibility to the overall form. These panels offer a range of different surface consistencies and patterns to the house that reflect the sites changing light conditions in multiple ways, producing an ever changing range of texture and tones.

LOCATION: NORTH OF SPAIN
COMPLETION DATE: MAY 2009
DETAIL DESIGN: IN COLLABORATION WITH J.M. AGUIRRE ALDAZ
SITE SUPERVISION: IN COLLABORATION WITH SATIE ARQUITECTOS S.L
STRUCTURE: EGITUR S.L
PHOTOGRAPHY: RICARDO LOUREIRO
TEAM CREDITS: DIEGO REPISO, JENNIFER CHUONG, KAIZEN CHEN, JON AGUIRRE.