The house negotiates the presence of a group of large trees in the plot by interweaving its shape and perimeter with them, forming a single unit.
Located in an ancient pine forest belonging to the green belt surrounding northwestern Madrid, this house tackles the familiar issue of architecture dealing with an overwhelming presence of nature, turning this coexistence into the project's main theme. Extending well-known devices in the negotiation with adjacent trees, particularly replicating the famous 1951 sketch by José Antonio Coderch for his Ugalde House, the perimeter and internal organization of the house are laid out inside a single complex outline left by the space in-between the tall pine trees.
Inside the informal resulting shape, a hedonistic and relaxed lifestyle is aimed for, in a flat and open layout that maximizes inside-outside connections. The plan houses a large family and programme whose different patterns of movement, and privacies are located according to the solar cycles upon the site. Three different inner-houses, kitchen, children and social areas, revolve around a patio and are connected through a corridor which, because of its width, acts as an inner street.
The house can be understood as a large pavilion in a forest, extending a singular local tradition of modern homes located in the humid northern green belt surrounding the city, particularly those resolved with simple gestures and a hand to hand direct closeness with trees and their shades, textures and weathering. Singular domestic experiments by Alejandro de la Sota, Julio Cano Lasso and Asís Cabrero belong to this lineage. In order to enhance interaction with trees, and push the house into the background, materiality is kept elemental, only with selective emphasize given to the jambs and lintels of large windows which will frame forest and garden.
Project: Pine Forest House
Status: Under development (2025)
Client: Private
Location: Monte del Pinar, Majadahonda
Team: Jacobo García-Germán, Marta Roldán, María Valdés, Nereida González, Nahia Urretagoiena, María Romero
Landscape Design: Daniel Valera DSTUDIO
