Porvenir House
The Porvenir house is located on the edge of the historic suburb of San Miguel in the city of Jerez de la Frontera, facing a spacious access street to the historic center in front of which we find several bourgeois houses built by the high society linked to the world of wine between the 18th and 19th centuries.
During the second half of the 20th century, the house was emptied and replaced by a metal structure, preserving only the original facade. The metal slabs had two openings to build two courtyards, one from the third bay and the other at the back of the lot. Our work begins by giving sense to this structure linking it with the needs required by the owner; a house for private use.
In a context of rising material prices, we began by taking over the existing structure, proposing two operations that will facilitate the reuse of the structural elements:
_Disassembly: the courtyards are enlarged to improve the ventilation and lighting conditions of the house and the openings for the new stairs are planned.
_Assembly and recycling of parts: the metal profiles recovered from the disassembly phase are recycled to build the new communication elements such as the gallery and the stairs, as well as the lighting supports used in the living area.
With this two-phase operation, we were able to reduce costs and atmospheric emissions, avoiding the use of new beams and the transport to landfill of a large part of the demolition waste, understanding sustainability mainly as an economy of means.
The staircase that connects to the upper gallery is located in the main courtyard, crossing the building transversely through an archway reminiscent of the originals of this type of house. Beyond the arch, there is a variable section courtyard with a skylight on the roof to channel sunlight to the lower level.
The second-floor gallery is moved towards the centre of the patio, freeing the dividing wall and allowing the vegetation to cover this sidewall in the future.
The part of the dwelling in contact with the street on the first floor is an open space for living, cooking and working, with exposed structures and bare construction elements, preserving the dimensions inherited from the original building and the material qualities of the later structure. On the second floor, three bedrooms with en-suite bathrooms and neutral cladding give it an intimate and welcoming character.
The design strategy favours the inclusion and recycling of pre-existences; metal structures, original ceiling heights or facade, in a program of a contemporary and functional housing.
