Alberto Alarcon’s rural Spain Casa Leon mimics the mountains | Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building

Casa Leon: Low-Impact Home Mimics the Spanish Mountains With a Sloping Green Roof

10/31/2011

Alberto Alarcon's rural Spain Casa Leon mimics the mountains

Taking inspiration from the surrounding mountains and calm Spanish countryside, the beautiful Casa Leon blends a lush grass roof with an earthy palette of materials. This rural home in <a title="Rural, Cool and Low-impact Casa Leon in Spain Mimics The Mountains" href="http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Provincia_de_Le%C3%B3n" target="_blank">Leon</a> was designed by <a title="Rural, Cool and Low-impact Casa Leon in Spain Mimics The Mountains" href="http://www.informacion-empresas.com/Empresa_C-ALARCON-ARQUITECTOS-ASOCIADOS.html" target="_blank">Alberto Alarcón + Asociados</a> to maximize results while sticking to a minuscule budget. In order to keep the house cool during Spain's hot summers, the architects oriented the project towards the south while insulating it with an expansive <a title="Rural, Cool and Low-impact Casa Leon in Spain Mimics The Mountains" href="http://inhabitat.com/auditorium-ciutat-delx-adds-open-space-with-a-sloping-green-roof/" target="_blank">green roof</a> that covers the entire 985 square foot structure.

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Alberto Alarcon's rural Spain Casa Leon mimics the mountains

Casa Leon consists of three airy and bright rooms joined by a single vertex.

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Alberto Alarcon's rural Spain Casa Leon mimics the mountains

This layout makes the home's interior spaces feel connected yet separate at the same time.

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Alberto Alarcon's rural Spain Casa Leon mimics the mountains

Big windows offer amazing countryside views while providing enough ventilation and natural light to keep residents comfortable and cool.

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Alberto Alarcon's rural Spain Casa Leon mimics the mountains

The winding green roof has a waterproof drainage membrane underneath as well as an expanded <a title="Rural, Cool and Low-impact Casa Leon in Spain Mimics The Mountains" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polystyrene" target="_blank">polystyrene</a> layer that keeps the building insulated, <a title="Rural, Cool and Low-impact Casa Leon in Spain Mimics The Mountains" href="http://inhabitat.com/london%e2%80%99s-first-certified-passivehaus-saves-up-to-90-of-energy-bills/" target="_blank">saving energy used for heating and cooling in the winter and summer</a>.

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Alberto Alarcon's rural Spain Casa Leon mimics the mountains

The walls were built from galvanized steel, plasterboard and expanded polystyrene.

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Alberto Alarcon's rural Spain Casa Leon mimics the mountains

Casa Leon is an affordable, earthy and cool rural home.

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Alberto Alarcon's rural Spain Casa Leon mimics the mountains

Taking inspiration from the surrounding mountains and calm Spanish countryside, the beautiful Casa Leon blends a lush grass roof with an earthy palette of materials. This rural home in Leon was designed by Alberto Alarcón + Asociados to maximize results while sticking to a minuscule budget. In order to keep the house cool during Spain's hot summers, the architects oriented the project towards the south while insulating it with an expansive green roof that covers the entire 985 square foot structure.

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Alberto Alarcon's rural Spain Casa Leon mimics the mountains