Private housing, Gijón | Spain
Vandaag, 00:00
Project: Private housing, Gijón // Spain
Architect: Ballina y Canal, Gijón // Spain
Fabricator + Installer: Fedecor S.L., Gijón // Spain
Façade system: Tray panels on bolts
Year of construction: 2022
Product: ALUCOBOND® PLUS anodized look C34
Photos: Fedecor S.L. + Alejandro Braña S.L.
FREEDOM AND FLEXIBILITY
The seaport of Gijón lies in the very north of Spain, on the Asturian coastline to be more precise. This is where the two architects from Studio Ballina y Canal Arquitectos set up their office in 1996 and made a name for themselves, especially in the field of residential buildings. The striking sculptural effect created by their façades is always eye-catching – and their preferred medium is a metal surface in fairly dark tones. A preference clearly shown in 2022, when they completed a building comprising 55 flats and clad in ALUCOBOND® on a plot near the beach. In the very same year, the architects opted to use the same material for a private residence in the Somió district and also decided to work with the same material manufacturer and installation company. Their choice for the large-format, anodised façade panels, which shimmer in shades ranging from light to dark bronze was ALUCOBOND® in the anodised look C34. Alongside the dark natural stone in other parts of the building, the black ALUCOBOND® surfaces, for example on the garage, and an equally dark ‘slatted screen on the upper floor, create a unified whole with very subtle colour nuances. The building’s appearance is reserved yet elegant. Set on a large, flat plot, it is able to follow the example set by the other villas in this spacious neighbourhood, which stretches east of Gijón from the coast up onto a plateau. Like them, it spreads out serenely and freely, its clear-cut, L-shape layout is in focus. The cantilevered roof slab covers part of the terrace on the side overlooking the garden, shielding the large glazed areas from too much sunlight and providing shade. The elongated, rectangular swimming pool appears to be framed by the new building, depending on the viewer’s perspective. All in all, the building communicates a feeling of precisely proportioned, material-focused architecture – with plenty of open space and a sense of lightness. Ballina y Canal’s aim of creating an ‘attractive building which delights everyone involved’ seems to have been fulfilled. However, the mystery about the identity of the occupants and the precise location of the private house remains.