A courtyard house in northern Spain plays with classical influences and modernist forms

At first glance, Twobo Arquitectura’s new courtyard house in Girona, Spain, appears to be a sprawling residential complex criss-crossed by colonnades, walkways, awnings and pools. In fact, the arrangement of the three key structures in the new 300 sq m house is carefully choreographed around three square patios, the tres patis of its name.

Tour this mesmerising courtyard house in Spain

The architects were inspired by classical typologies, particularly the ruins of the ancient Roman villas in the nearby Catalonian coastal city of Empúries, originally founded by the Greeks in around 575 BCE. The new house is composed of three structures, all of which turn inwards. The architects describe this as a ‘timeless Mediterranean typology of a house with an enclosing wall, a central sky-lit patio, and rooms organized around this central feature’.

A guest pavilion adjoins the carport directly opposite the entrance at the south of the plot. This sits alongside a kitchen garden, the smallest of the three patios. A covered walkway threads through the site, past an al fresco dining area and the large square swimming pool, surround on all four sides by the colonnades.

Two sides of the pool are flanked by the pavilions containing the principal accommodation. To the west is a bedroom wing, with two en-suites and a utility area, whilst the largest structure at the northern tip of the site contains the living room, dining area and kitchen, along with the primary bedroom suite.

The entire plot is enclosed by tall roughly plastered walls, creating a compound that feels set apart and separate from the outside world, as well as giving the house protection from northern winds. The sense of a integrated, self-contained complex is heightened by the framing device of the colonnades and planting, which includes grasses and lemon trees as well as a mature olive.

The Barcelona-based architects cite the influence of Le Corbusier and Swedish architect Sigurd Lewerentz in the arrangement of framed views, windows and apertures. There’s also influence from the layout of the grand Roman villa, particularly in the way the pool mirrors the shallow pond in large Roman homes – the impluvium - a natural way of collecting rainwater and cooling the interior. Even the use of concrete inside and out draws comparisons with the monumentality and durability of ancient ruins.

The sense of solidity is paired with the diaphanous arrangement of terracotta tiles and glass walls, creating screens that let light in but also preserve the privacy of the courtyard-facing bedrooms. Iroko wood panels at high level are paired with ceramic tiles and polished concrete floors, creating an earthy, warm domestic sphere with the occasional splash of colour, as in the bathrooms and the two blue tiled chimney features, one inside the main living space adjoining the stairs to a mezzanine level, and the other adjoining a yellow tiled outdoor kitchen besides the pool.

Twobo Arquitectura was set up in 2007 by María Pancorbo, Alberto Twose, and Pablo Twose in Barcelona. Working across housing developments and one-off private dwellings, the studio has won several awards for its considered approach.

Two-bo.com