Casa GJ in Catalonia by Alventosa Morell

Matadepera is located in the Catalan hinterland, around 30 km north of Barcelona. Just beyond the 10,000-strong municipality lie the wooded hills of the Sant Llorenç del Munt nature park. The area is therefore ideal for residential development, as evidenced by the numerous detached single-family homes on relatively spacious plots. The family who commissioned the house previously owned a large estate here which was gradually divided up and developed with detached houses. A plot of around 600 m² remained on the southern edge of the largely flat site for Casa GJ.

The basic structure of the house is formed by solid brickwork and vaulted ceilings made of steel and ceramic elements. © José Hevia

Marc Alventosa, Xavier Morell and their team designed a single-storey building for the site, consisting of eight equally sized multi-purpose rooms and two bathrooms, with an area of approximately 140 m². Thanks to the diamond-shaped floor plan, five of the rooms face south. A sixth room in the centre of the complex is higher than the others and receives daylight through surrounding skylights. The rooms can be used as living rooms, studies or bedrooms, and the configuration can be changed as required. Instead of corridors, spacious passage doors connect the individual rooms. This also enabled the living space to be limited while still making the house appear spacious. 

The central room is higher than the others and is lit by a surrounding skylight. © José Hevia

The house's construction is simple: load-bearing brick walls and concrete floors, with traditional Catalan vaulted ceilings. This creates the necessary thermal mass to keep the house cool in summer, while the relatively large windows ensure sufficient sunlight in winter. The extra-high central room improves natural lighting and provides cool cross-ventilation throughout the house in summer.