Never underestimate a man’s love for his horse. Las Cuadras, a delightful casita on the outskirts of Benidorm, in the Alicante province of Spain, was built as much to give comfort to an aging horse as to provide a weekend home for its owner, photographer Viçent Llorens.

Measuring only 430 square feet, the house is a refit of one of the simple, box-shaped concrete sheds scattered across the countryside. They are mostly used to store farm equipment and an animal or two, and Las Cuadras was no different—until Viçent contacted Jorge Frias and Irene Zurdo of Estudio JI Arquitectos and asked them to design a space for occasional human habitation as well.

“Our idea was to create something artisanal, close to the building’s origins.”
—Jorge Frias, architect

“He really just wanted a place to muck around in,” says Frias, “a place where he could be close to his animals, work on his photography, and make paella.” With this in mind, Frias and Zurdo created a compact one-bedroom retreat with a bespoke kitchen and a small living/dining area.

Shop the Look

Conceptually, the architects aimed not to erase Las Cuadras’s history as a horse stable, but to express it. They even underscored it by inserting horseshoe-shaped holes in a poetic, meandering fashion across two of the facades. For better views, the architects raised and reimagined the roof over a large walled courtyard and gave it colorful, irregularly placed supports. A second, similar overhang acts as shelter from the sun for the horse and two donkeys. The original concrete roof and walls were kept intact, with the exception of one, which was angled outward to create an enclosed sun-yellow patio.

“My favorite part of the day is dawn—a beautiful light enters from the large window next to the bed and reflects off the wood in such a warm way,” says Viçent. Outside, through portholes in the patio wall, he can see his animals, waiting for him to rise.

Project Credits:

Architect of Record: Estudio JI Arquitectos

Interior Design: Estudio JI Arquitectos & La Objiteca

Photography: Mariela Apollonio / @fotografadearquitectura

—

Head back to the May/June 2021 issue homepage

Wide Open Spaces: New Ways to Embrace the Landscape