A residential and landscape project, combining new collective buildings and restored houses in a stratified and topographic site
Galdia is an intervention in one of the city’s most sought-after spaces, the last vacant plot in one of the best residential areas, located in the hill that runs longitudinally from west to east along the ridge that articulates Santander’s landform. Understanding this geological condition and dealing with a steep topography in the garden where the project is sited, a set of articulated interventions are orchestrated.
Along Pérez Galdós street and directly facing Hotel Real, the five fully listed 1950s semi-detached single-family houses are painstakingly restored by upgrading their thermal performance and turning their fragmented ground-floor spaces into open plans that facilitate connections to their private outdoors. Each house will have a south-facing garden with the possibility of a private swimming pool. Behind them, the secluded communal garden with a set of large listed trees acts as a green transition between the old and the new. Included in the catalogue of Santander’s protected green spaces, this pocket will be turned into an Atlantic landscape, enhancing its qualities with the addition of other local species.
In the lower area of the site, two twin new buildings contain 28 apartments, ranging from 55 to 100 sqm. With stepped volumes made up by recessing terraces, every house offers southern exposure and views to the garden, as well as an open terrace, each one laterally protected from cold westerly winds. The geological interpretation of the site manifests in the stratification of the buildings facades, made up of long horizontal bands. Together with their recessed silhouettes, both buildings resemble two carved solid blocks. Sustainability plays an important role in the project, with aerothermal energy providing heating and cooling, together with solar panels. These devices are paired with cross-ventilated plans and a high degree of protection from the humid climate. Enclosures for both buildings will be prefabricated in large panels assembled on-site in a “full-façade system” with internal insulation and a natural ceramic finish.
Project: Collective housing, landscaping and single family home restoration
Status: Built (2021) Competition - First Prize (2025) Under development
Client: Aedas Homes
Location: Santander
Team: Jacobo García-Germán, Marta Roldán, Manuel del Río, María Romero, Nahia Urretagoiena, María Valdés, Paula Piqueras
Consultants: Ines Ingenieros Consultores (structure), Valladares Ingeniería (structure), Jaime Zúñiga (mechanicals), Ingecid (digital modeling), Pulso Studio (visualizations), Ángel David Moreno (quantity surveyor)
Landscape Design: María de la Mora Jardines
