Herrera House

Klaus-Peter Gast

Description

The architects Morales and Mariscal responded to the special qualities of a tightly parcelled, densely developed and yet essentially suburban structure with a firm solution. Their building occupies the whole of the plot. It is cubic, angular and abstract, with knife-edge lines, consistently classically modern. It picks up neighbouring cubic volumes, and dimensions from past times, connecting in terms of scale to the nearby single-storey houses with their slightly sloping roofs through a simple yet impressive solution: its mass downgrades itself to a single-storey volume on the street side of the entrance. The architects successfully, indeed with virtuosity, perform the difficult task of speaking their own language confidently without compromising the existing buildings. This elegant structure with its smoothly rendered surfaces, carefully worked planking and stainless steel settings cooperates outstandingly well with the anonymous, modest neighbours. White is the dominant colour of the existing buildings, which means that the large, light rendered areas on the new structure continue the old tradition. The stepped section make functions intelligible from the outside: the low section of the building contains the main access area with a kind of entrance pavilion. From there, stairs lead to the next storey and into the higher part of the building, the preparatory area for the actual ‘heart’ of the house, a patio extending up to the roof.

The architects designed this hall not just as an access area, but above all as a ‘light trap’ embracing all levels, breathing magnanimity and calm. Silence, coolness and muted daylight are thus the key qualities of this space in a region much tormented by heat. So the patio became the internal street: the living room and the adjacent kitchen on the lower level, which is raised by half a storey, face it (through glass), and not the street outside. Bedrooms and a bathroom are located on the upper floor; the access area to them and a very important sight-line are also linked with the patio. But here the direct view is veiled by a ‘filter’: a wooden louvre structure is placed in front. This creates layering, but also a tactile and visual link with the roof, which uses the same structure to imbue the patio sunlight with changing warm colours.