9.23.22 | DIGS.NET 23
P R O F I L E | N AT U R A L H O U S E
"carved by light and time to be kind to the inhabitant."
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Not content with just blurring the lines
between indoors and out, the space is
intently interested in starting a conver-
sation between domains. These walls do
talk, too—only quietly, with soft insinua-
tion rather than boisterous overstatement.
Calm is really a coin of the realm in this
house—the flow-state of spaces.
The project's spartan interior is an instiga-
tor of its fluidity. And while the less-is-more
aesthetic is often wonderfully lassiez-faire,
a minimalist house is not inherently at
ease. It requires a deliberately choreo-
graphed floor plan sympathetic to the
"small but significant" details that support
liveability. For example, maximizing the
extent of a space's social areas. "In this
type of project where the possibilities are
limited, we respond to the needs of the
clients," Cota Paredes explains.
Light and the use of white are dominant
elements throughout. Light permeates the
space, giving it shape, while the "purity of
white" is an inheritance from the likes of Le
Corbusier and Alvaro Siza that stimulates
freshness and serenity while serving the
more practical purpose of protecting the
house against the heat. It looks spotless
besides. Light is particularly radiant in
this project, illuminating the whole of the
interior and its space-defining finishes,
such as the white marble floor that covers
the patio, leaving its thousand-year-old
olive tree to thrive. "The combination
of three materials—white concrete, a
cement flat with white paint, and a stone
pavement—give the façade an austere
but elegant character." Finally, it's light
that also silos the house in a kind of soli-
tude, even amongst its neighbors.
With sun and light on its side, and expres-
sions of nature inside and out, Natura
House is both testament and tribute to the
beauty of simplicity. It doesn't take much;
in fact, very little, as this project proves.
It does, however, demand an architect
with a strong, unambiguous point of view.
"We like to think that in our architecture
you can decide to isolate yourself or open
yourself to the outside in a conscious
way," says Cota Paredes. Natura House
allows for both. cotaparedes.com
