Sevilla | 2019

A high-rise building with a single core is proposed, optimizing the ratio between the height of the building and the number of dwellings per floor. It also frees up space on the ground floor to create more social areas and provides privileged views from the upper floors.

A detailed study of the climate reveals that a rectangular building with its short facade facing north-south minimizes exposure to the most unfavorable orientations and allows westerly winds to promote natural ventilation in the homes. In addition to optimizing orientation, the block is divided into two, so that both the stairwell and the wet rooms in the apartments have natural light and ventilation. Going one step further in optimizing the block, it was decided to maximize the east facade and reduce the west facade. The east-facing orientation allows the rooms in the house to warm up in the morning in winter and prevents solar radiation during the hottest hours of the day in summer.

As a final touch, terraces were designed on the end walls to protect the south façade from the sun when it is highest in the sky, i.e., during the summer months. In addition, the sides of the façade were extended, highlighting the slenderness of the block and giving it its own character. It is thus, at the end of the process, that one arrives at the details, and not the other way around.