In a select, long-established housing estate in Greater Madrid stands a detached house, blending chameleon-like into the background setting. The property, designed by Mariano Molina Architects’ Studio, is surrounded by private Mediterranean woodland, with such respect for the natural environment that it is built around a huge holm oak tree. Indeed, the project was inspired by the idea of creating an indoor/outdoor space around the tree.
In the words of the architects in charge of the project, the house’s appearance aspires “to convey a certain Mediterranean style by combining the use of white with squared stone cladding from eastern Spain”. In the design of the building, MDi collections by Inalco play a predominant role. The Masai collection, in white, acts as a linking thread, and its stone-like design helps the building to merge into the natural setting.
To add more natural finishes to the project, the owners chose the iTOP Larsen collection for the big island that takes pride of place in the kitchen. With its dazzling purity of design, it is a strong focal point.
The huge amount of natural light is another highpoint of the home. Four big sliding windows, covering a 10-metre-long stretch of the façade, can be slid back so that they disappear, uniting the home’s indoor and outdoor areas and thus contributing to the main aim of the project.
As Mariano Molina Architects’ Studio explained, “The owner wanted a space where they could leave all the stress and strain of the day behind them when they walked in the door; a place where they felt truly at home.”
Holm oak house is clearly what they were looking for, since priority has been given to contact with nature and to organic elements in a skilful process of adaptation and integration into the background setting. Above all, Home oak house is a place that can genuinely be called home.
Special thanks:
Inalco collections: Larsen iTOP & Masai
Architecture: Mariano Molina Iniesta
Photography: Imagen Subliminal (Miguel de Guzmán and Rocío Romero)
