Patio Houses in Badajoz
- Sabine Drey
At first glance, the two white housing structures in Cabeza del Buey look like a modern interpretation of the simple, traditional houses of the region. On closer examination, however, one finds an extremely complex arrangement of courtyards, offset volumes and recesses. The two sites are located diagonally opposite each other, one at the end of a row of existing houses, the other in what was formerly an amorphous gap situation. The street level on one site differs by as much as four metres. Regulations for public housing here called for single-storey structures if possible with pitched roofs and with a maximum floor area of 80 m² per dwelling. Five small units one or two storeys in height were the outcome. Like most houses in the Extremadura - where extreme temperatures prevail in summer and winter - the present ones have internal patios, to which the living areas are oriented. The architect, Antonio Holgado, conceived the courtyards as an extension of the dwelling space and reduced the role of the street facades to one of cross-ventilation. As ventilating elements, he used open latticework walls, which, set in front of the windows, provide additional shading internally.
