A Minimalist Home in Spain Is Designed to Capture the Warmth of the Sun

"Casa Banlusa was designed following bioclimatic concepts," says architect Sara Acebes Anta of her recently completed project, a minimalist family home on the outskirts of Valladolid, Spain.

Here, the temperature swing between day and night can be as great as 60ºF. To weather those extremes, Acebes built the home out of thermoclay, a material that accumulates heat during the day and releases it slowly at night. She also positioned the bedrooms on the west side of the home, "where the last rays of sun warm them before it’s time to sleep," she says.

Like the bedrooms, the rest of the roughly 2,200-square-foot, single-level plan is organized to respond to the times of day. The kitchen faces east to take in sunrise, while the living room faces west for sunset; a small island separates the two spaces. Down a hallway on the opposite end of the home are the bedrooms and two baths, and separating the public and private areas is an outdoor courtyard.

With the picturesque Esgueva Valley and Duero Canal as the home’s front porch, so to speak, framing the landscape was paramount. Knowing her clients love nature, Acebes made it a priority to capture beautiful views. "We wanted to feel the landscape from inside the house," she says.

A pared-back palette of white and gray creates an atmosphere of calm that is further softened by the warmth of wooden furniture and fittings. "The clients were interested in using local materials and working with artisans," says the architect, who cites collaborating with local craftspeople as a major highlight of the project. Acebes designed the internal doors and furniture with a carpenter, and the boundary fence and external doors with the help of a metal worker.

The home is deceptively simple—like the careful arrangement of the interiors, complexity lies in subtle details. The fluted exterior cladding, for example, adds texture by creating a play of shadows. Similarly, vertical battens in the kitchen and on several interior walls echo the exterior, creating a dialogue between inside and out.

Related Reading:

A Minimalist Mediterranean Home Rises in Rural Spain

A Dreamy, Minimalist Retreat in Spain Opens to Its Lush Surroundings

Project Credits:

Architect of Record: Sara Acebes Anta / @saraacebesestudio

Builder/General Contractor: em2