In the 1960s, the city of Zaragoza nearly doubled its housing stock to accommodate an expanding industrial work force. In the La Jota neighborhood specifically, single-family homes were built cheaply and quickly. When Alonso Zgz purchased one with the intention of renovating, its only adornments were a terra-cotta roof and simple curling brackets beneath the cornice.

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But its characteristic simplicity is what attracted Alonso, a bachelor working in the pharmaceutical industry. When looking for a new home, he sought privacy, and something timeworn, but also an opportunity to demonstrate modern style within the shell of an old building. “For me, buildings and cities are elements that are alive,” Alonso says. “It was important that the house had that patina, those traces from the past.”

To make the structure his own, Alonso called upon Sebastián Arquitectos, a local firm that implemented a series of elegant design decisions to arrive at a home with distinct charm inside and out. The architects began by opening the ceiling to expose wooden roof beams, and surgically replacing load-bearing walls with steel columns. Diaphanous pass-throughs between the rooms now give the interiors the feel of an open-plan loft. For an indoor/outdoor connection, sliding glass doors connect the kitchen and lounge to an expansive rear courtyard.

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“For me, buildings and cities are elements that are alive. It was important that the house had that patina, those traces from the past.”
—Alonso Zgz, Resident

To improve the house’s energy efficiency, the architects installed low-energy windows and insulated the ceiling. They also poured a new polished concrete floor, embedding it with radiant heating. “I do believe that in the century in which we are living we have to do everything that is in our power so that our impact or our footprint will be as small as possible,” says Alonso. “We must adapt our resources to a responsible consumption, and that also makes us feel better about ourselves.”

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Project Credits:

Architect or Record: Sebastián Arquitectos / @sergio_sebastian

Co-Designer: Iván Paul Martín Jefremovas

General Contractor: IDEALIS reforma integral

Civil Engineer: Pablo Sebastián Franco

Furniture: INCLASS / @inclass_design

Photography: Irene Ruiz Bazán/ @la.irenica