ArchDaily’s Work of the Year 2024 Nominees | The Empty House

The ArchDaily organization has extended an invitation to the community to participate in the popular vote, which will remain open until March 26. This democratic process allows the public to play a crucial role in the selection of the winner, giving “The Empty House” the opportunity to be celebrated not only by experts, but also by admirers of architecture from around the world.

The Empty House, located on the main street of a town near Valencia, is a house that is part of a fragment of the history of the twentieth century. The façade and the footprint of the existing building are protected, but the volume exceeds the needs of the new project. Faced with this situation it is proposed to empty the interior space in ruins and show it in an innovative way. From the outside, the façade maintains its character, without modifying the street, which is transformed into a kind of scenography of another era. The tone of this old facade is unified with an antelope gray treatment that goes completely unnoticed.

Crossing the threshold we find ourselves in another time. It is closed and air-conditioned only what is necessary and generates a triple-height volume that in a climate like the Mediterranean can be used throughout the year. The day area is joined to the dividing wall, in continuity with a swimming pool with sufficient size for swimming, which seems to get lost in the Valencian orchard. Solving the twist that the plot has on the ground floor are the guest room and the multipurpose room, a twist between two pieces separated by just a few millimeters. The rest of the space on this floor is empty, which makes us wonder about the size of a room whose depth of landscape seems to have no limits.

The night area is arranged transversally as a bridge framing the views. The master bedroom is located above the living room with the same orientation. The section gives us a floor with sloping roofs with an entrance of zenithal light, a space that time will give its use. The wood of the old beams of the ruined house are reused to build the furniture of the house, and as has been sought with the space of the house, it becomes a material that acquires a new life.

You can vote for the project at this link.

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