The proposal is conceived as a folded architecture, a continuous surface that organizes the program through a clear and restrained gesture.

This fold resolves the site placement and articulates the relationship between interior and exterior, generating a sequence of spaces adapted to the needs of each dwelling.

The project, currently under construction, is conceived as a unified system in which two dwellings are arranged as autonomous pieces that share the same geometric and constructive logic. This condition allows each unit to maintain its independence while preserving the overall coherence of the ensemble.

Our studio has completed the photography and video session of Villa Torii, continuing the process of documenting and sharing this recently finished project. The photographer Fernando Alda and the audiovisual work of Jesús Orrico have captured with precision the atmosphere and spatial essence of the house.

The design of this home takes the iconic Japanese torii as a reference, reinterpreting its meaning as a threshold towards the essential. Traditionally, the torii marks the entrance to a sacred place; in this project, that idea is translated into an architecture that proposes a conscious transition between the environment and the living space.

The house is composed of two clearly differentiated elements: a solid base materialised in green marble and a lightweight upper structure, conceived as a pergola, that rests precisely upon it. The base represents stability and grounding, while the canopy, refined and elegant, introduces a more ethereal dimension where light and shadow shape the atmosphere. Together, both elements establish a balance between tradition and contemporaneity.

The ground floor accommodates the daytime area, opening onto a large exterior platform suspended over the landscape, reinforcing the continuity between interior and exterior. The lower level houses the nighttime area along with spaces dedicated to leisure and wellbeing, while the basement is reserved for the garage, a multipurpose room, and technical areas.

Villa Torii is conceived as a serene space where architecture accompanies rather than imposes. The sequence of its spaces, the precision of its materiality, and the central role of light create an experience that invites a calm way of inhabiting time, in a constant balance between the tangible and the intangible.

In many cases, it is the constraints themselves that shape the project almost unintentionally. The site was located at street level on one of the busiest avenues in the city of Baghdad, with a specific geometry defined by the urban fabric. The proposal envisions the construction of a dwelling that brings together a daytime living area, two nighttime rooms, and a space for physical exercise.

Given the very limited size of the plot, the most immediate decision would have been to build vertically in order to free up space for a garden. However, the chosen approach was to occupy the entire plot with an extensive single-storey volume, connected to the exterior in two distinct ways, through two outdoor spaces of different character. On one hand, a perimeter garden acts as a filter or boundary between the house and the avenue and surrounding streets.

On the other, a central circular courtyard becomes the main outdoor space of the house, organizing the entire program around it. In one direction, this courtyard gathers the more public and open areas of the house, creating a sequence of indoor and outdoor spaces that begins and ends in the perimeter garden. This sequence is materialized through four glass boundaries that can be fully retracted along the side walls. This operation allows for the perception of a hybrid space that spans from one end of the plot to the other, ultimately becoming the largest open space achievable on the property, not only visually but also physically.

In the opposite direction, and this time only open to the perimeter, the two main nighttime rooms of the house are located. At the four corners, between the open spaces, four enclosed cores are placed, concentrating the service areas. The roof becomes the final space that completes the overall composition. It is accessed via an internal staircase and is conceived as a kind of oasis defined by a series of boundaries.

On its outer edge, the vegetation of the garden provides privacy. On its inner edge, a sheet of water crowns the circular courtyard, featuring a deeper area on one side to allow for bathing.

The project is articulated through the logic of the program and its placement along a main avenue in Alicante. The dwelling is organized into three clearly differentiated areas: the night zone, the day zone, and a space dedicated to training and sports practice.

The architecture is positioned along the western edge of the plot. This displacement allows the expansion of the outdoor space associated with the living area, intensifying its relationship with the garden and the pool. At the same time, the placement preserves the existing large-scale trees, which are complemented by new plantings intended to consolidate, over time, a denser garden. The main access occurs from the eastern side, through a quieter street, thereby reinforcing the privacy of the house.

Between the day zone and the sports area, a transitional space is arranged, oriented almost north–south, which acts as a connector and promotes cross ventilation. One of the fundamental premises is to orient the night zone toward the east, ensuring its direct relationship with the morning light. A greater clear height is also pursued in the main space. The volumetry is resolved through two lower volumes between which a larger body is inserted. This latter volume, corresponding to the living area, appears to rise slightly, emphasizing its presence and giving identity to the proposal; its deep edge reinforces this condition, allowing the volume to appear as if it levitates above the space it protects. The thickness of this body allows for the integration of a deep structural system within it, enabling the main space to span its entire width without intermediate supports. The day zone is thus conceived as a continuous environment, in direct relationship with the exterior pavement and the sheet of water, dissolving the boundary between interior and exterior and reinforcing the open character of the house. Inside, the materials are resolved through a continuous and warm chromatic palette. Some vertical surfaces and furniture elements are executed in oak wood, providing texture and depth to the whole. This decision, together with the color temperature of the lighting, gives the proposal the intended domestic character.

Ultimately, this is an architecture that emerges from the place and the program, a matter as simple as it is complex to bring into reality.