SPECIAL FEATURE
The two projects explicitly highlight the power of renovating the homes which were reduced to nothing but were converted into a mansion-like structure
The art of renovation
Casa Tabares De Cala is a single family house located in the historical city of La Laguna, Spain which was renovated by Alejandro Beautell. Prior to the renovation, the house was ruined due to the abandonment which it had suffered for decades. It’s a traditional patio-house with a structure of massive walls covered by a wooden structure. Its composition is simple and its strictly symmetric facade still shows the dignity of an old house of the 18th century. During the course of years, the house had been transformed, enlarged, and sometimes damaged. The small courtyard (patio) of the house, had been closed in the line with the staircase, limiting the natural light access. With all these limitations, this intervention consisted of the integral rehabilitation of the building, to give it back its use. When it comes to the back part of the building, the most recent volume was maintained, while its distribution was remodeled in order to adapt it to the current needs of the owners. The patio of the house was covered by overhanging metal and glass structure. A new steel staircase, which provides an access to the rooftop terrace, was designed in the same position as the pre-existing one. The covering of the patio made possible to open the gallery and the main staircase, which is decorated with railing of tea pine wood. The ancient roof, had to be disassembled and restored fully respecting and retaining its typology and layout.
Loft Vivero renovated by Taller de Arquitectura Contextual in Mexico is the result of an architectural intervention of a 60 sqm and more than a thirty-yearold abandon building. It had two modules of the same dimensions, because of the growth of a large tree planted by the owner. The original construction started to be structurally affected, so it was decided to cut down the tree and abandoned the damaged building. Once the renovation started, serious structural omissions were detected and, in order to correct them, all
decisions were taken from the preservation of 90% of existing walls and openings. The architectural program considers the transformation of one of the modules into the house’s social area (living room-dining room-kitchen); the second module contains the bedroom, the bathroom, the laundry and the storage area, whose access is from the social area. The existing attached bathroom was demolished and instead was created a 20 sqm terrace that works as a transitional space between the interior and exterior. The original construction had mosaic tile floors that had to be retired completely in order to introduce new installations. The recovered pieces were used for the new design of the floors, which were integrated to polished concrete plates that replaced the area of lost mosaic tiles.