Fab 40: Valdemorillo House by Padilla Nicás

Spain

Constructed in 1976, Valmayor reservoir is the region’s second biggest volume of water. The original house on a sizeable waterside plot was built at about the same time. Now the owners, an American-born couple, have created a new ‘light’ addition made from prefabricated laminated wood frame, designed by Padilla Nicás Arquitectos, with sloping roofs that complement the older property.

The frames were assembled on site and painted white to blend in with the original house. ‘The assembly at each joint employs a steel plate, sandwiching the web of each frame and bolted from the exterior,’ says Francisco Padilla, who set up shop with Juan Manuel Nicás in 2003, after spending nine years working together for Spanish legend Rafael Moneo. The addition virtually doubles the area of the original house.

2 November 2009 | Architecture