Villa Lago, finalist in the Baumit Life Challenge 2026

The list of finalists for the prestigious European façade competition Baumit Life Challenge 2026, to be held in Budapest, has now been revealed, and our project Villa Lago has been selected among the 36 best works in Europe in the Single Family House category.

This recognition places Villa Lago within an international selection that brings together some of the most outstanding proposals in contemporary architecture, where the façade is understood as a key element in defining the character of the building. In our case, the envelope is conceived as a precise expression of the relationship between architecture, light, and landscape, reinforcing a vision in which materiality and geometry construct an essential spatial experience.

The project proposes an architecture that intertwines with the garden, maximizing the perimeter of contact with the landscape and dissolving the boundaries between the built and the natural. In this Madrid setting, this relationship takes on a singular value through a strategy that deliberately avoids compact volumetry in favor of an ascending layout, generating a composition that aspires to be both geometric and organic at once.

The house is conceived through the combination of two ancestral archetypes: the pavilion, open and centrifugal, and the courtyard, more introspective and contained. Through longitudinal, permeable volumes that are juxtaposed to optimize circulation, the project generates five gardens with their own identity—almost open courtyards—that multiply visual relationships and make the exterior a constant presence.

The program is organized in section: the lower level houses the swimming pool and guest rooms; above it, the daytime living area opens towards views of the lake; and at the highest level, the night areas are arranged in a volume that acts as a bridge, creating a large shaded terrace beneath it. At the intersection of these volumes lies the circulation core, which articulates the whole and reinforces the continuity between architecture and landscape.

The Baumit Life Challenge, which since 2014 has brought together architects, planners, and builders from across Europe, has established itself as a leading platform for exploring new possibilities in façade design, promoting innovation through the use of color, textures, and materials.

The next edition, to be held in Budapest in May 2026, will gather professionals from more than 25 countries, becoming a meeting point to share ideas, establish connections, and reflect on the role of the façade in contemporary architecture.

In addition, the project can receive public support through online voting at the following link.