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The large stone and plaster house was first built in the 1500s, and it went through several awkward additions before it was finally abandoned. Now the property, surrounded by an industrial park, is a training facility for a pharmaceutical company. Since so much of the property was near collapse, the decision was made to do major overhaul of the floor plan with careful addition and subtraction to maintain the original character of the building.

A garage and barn were removed to create a walled courtyard. Internal spaces were opened up to provide for better flow and visual sight lines, and light shafts and a large glass wall were installed to eliminate dark spaces. A large glass enclosure draping the west entrance creates a buffer from the street and modernizes the aesthetic of the property, unifying the original busy and layered facade.

The distinctive defense tower (what medieval Spanish home is complete without one?) had its original floors removed to open the interior up, and plaster was removed from the walls to expose the structural stone. A small steel stairway leads to a glass floor which is the base for a wooden spiral staircase that leads to the tower’s roof. The exterior was re-plastered with sections of the stone work coming through, exposing the core construction of the original house.

+ two.bo Architects

Via Architizer