X-House by Cadaval & Sola-Morales, Barcelona

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Fashioned in the shape of its namesake, albeit in giant concrete form, the house is the handiwork of young Mexico City and Barcelona-based architects, Cadaval & Sola-Morales, known for their bold, formal gestures and modern lines.
X-House is sited lower than the street, minimizing its public presence and keeping existing views in tact.
Its unusual form is not simply gestural - the splayed sides allow light to penetrate the back of the building and the angled frontage maximizes the splendid views
The lower level offers large, open plan living spaces
Tall mullions give rhythm and provide a discreet sense of enclosure in a space dominated by its exterior
Clean lines in the kitchen.
A monochrome colour palate distinguishes the interiors.
Cadaval & Sola-Morales have a knack for concrete, and express their prowess with cantilevering wings and six-meter high walls.
The use of engineering associated with bridges and industrial buildings lends itself well to this stern 'X' projecting out over a Spanish hilltop.
The top floor holds the owners' private suite.
The private living room.
The building is topped by a roof terrace that covers the entire structure.
The architects have installed a glass parapet, thus avoiding even the slightest visual annoyance of a handrail.
The house is at once generous and aggressive, playful and utilitarian...
... and it is these ambiguities and contradictions that make it so intriguing.
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Ellie Stathaki is the Architecture & Environment Director at Wallpaper*. She trained as an architect at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece and studied architectural history at the Bartlett in London. Now an established journalist, she has been a member of the Wallpaper* team since 2006, visiting buildings across the globe and interviewing leading architects such as Tadao Ando and Rem Koolhaas. Ellie has also taken part in judging panels, moderated events, curated shows and contributed in books, such as The Contemporary House (Thames & Hudson, 2018), Glenn Sestig Architecture Diary (2020) and House London (2022).
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