Casa Dosmurs by Mesura – Home Stratosphere

Client: Private
Location: Alella, Spain
Category: Residential
Architect: Mesura
Photography: Maxime Delvaux, Mesura
Video: Oriol Colomar, Enya Rodríguez, Elena Pauné
Furniture: Passeu Passeu, Max Enrich, Peso, Robert Aregall, Brats, Nanimarquina, Mobles114, Curated By, Indoors, Hostelgrup,
Santa&Cole, Cubro, Font Barcelona
Collaborators: Viraje, Joan Capdevila

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The house’s flat roof serves as a spacious open terrace located above this level.

A close-up shot of a stainless steel exhaust pipe mounted on the wall surface.

An interior shot showcasing a loft-style section painted in white, with noticeable red brick walls.

A detailed shot of the red brick wall featuring ornaments and wall decor.

A detailed shot of the loft area showing a small dining table and a square glass window that offers a scenic view.

A close-up shot of a monochromatic white kitchen island with a single-basin sink.

An interior shot of the living area showcasing the use of red brick walls that are painted white, creating a simple yet elegant design.

This photo features the living area with a simple yet elegant design, where white painted red brick walls are the main highlight.

An expansive glass wall has been installed on the upper level, providing an unobstructed view to enjoy.

This interior shot captures the upper section of the space, which features a large glass panel that allows for uninterrupted views of the outside.

This is a close-up shot of a red brick wall that features a square glass window.

This is a close-up shot of a room partition consisting of wooden panels.

A close shot of some sections during construction where partitions are made up of wood panels.

This interior shot showcases a bedroom with a mattress placed on the floor, and full-height glass walls that provide an opportunity to enjoy the view outside.

This is a close-up shot of a brick red wall and the door jamb.

This is a close-up shot of stacks of red brick walls at a construction site.

This is a close-up shot of the wooden panels used as building material in construction.

This is a black and white photo capturing the lifting and positioning of prefabricated panels.

upper Floor drawing of Casa Dosmurs — Upper Floor drawing of Casa Dosmurs

A house can be understood as an intermediary between the exterior and interior. A shell enclosing a living space with the ability to regulate how its inhabitants interact with the outside world. When designed with a site-specific approach, architecture purposely opens and closes to its environment to allow the desired living experience.

To answer the search for a serene family retreat, Casa Dosmurs is conceived as an isolating mechanism capable of ignoring its immediate perimetral surroundings while opening to sea views and a contemplative green patio connected transversely in a single open space: a radical way of understanding the house as a space for constant connection between the people inhabiting it.

The project is located in a residential area on the outskirts of Alella, one of the coastal towns in El Maresme, Spain. The neighbourhood spans along the mountain’s hillside with an eclectic mix of architectural styles, which causes a sense of discord and disharmony around the site.

Because of the steep slope and the closeness between houses, the only open view from the site is towards the sea. On the lower ground of the plot, native trees have grown spontaneously and frame the mountainous countryside, which unfolds in a continuation of rolling hills.

Achieving a direct connection between architecture and its surroundings is a constant throughout our practice. In this case, being a single-family house surrounded by neighbours, we follow a different premise: the house is set apart from the street and adjacent constructions by hiding between two bare walls that follow the site’s abrupt slope. Thus, the house disappears entirely from the street’s view.

The programme is divided into two staggered levels down the hill, preventing the building from standing out over the street. Two entrances are connected through a staircase along the west wall, while on the opposite front, limited openings control visuals of neighbouring houses. In a radically different attitude, the two other facades open entirely to the outdoors.

A wide ceiling-to-floor window in the south-facing facade frames views of the local landscape from the double-height living area and the upper floor. The roof and walls of this facade protrude two meters beyond the limit of the interior space, acting as a passive climate element that shelters the interior from direct sunshine throughout the day in summer. In winter, while openings at both ends of the north-south axis allow cross ventilation, concrete facades absorb heat from incident sunlight during the daytime to release it when the temperature drops.

On the upper level, the two bedrooms connect to a secluded garden facing the mountain. On the opposite side of the rooms, modular wooden partitions can be totally or partially closed, offering different degrees of privacy and regulating air currents. Above this story, the house’s flat roof acts as a large open terrace.

The house’s materiality and construction techniques respond to a budget-driven strategy: prioritizing spatial quality over expensive materials and finishes. This led us to to work with a combination of industrialized construction methods and in-situ work. It’s a humble approach to architecture: through tectonics, it shows how it has been built.

The lateral walls and the roof are built with a system of custom-made prefab concrete slabs and panels assembled on-site in only three days of work. This structure allows for the ten-meter-wide uninterrupted floorplan and minimizes the waste of materials. Structure and facade are conceived as a single element; walls are left untouched for the exterior.

Inside the house, walls are clad in brick from a local quarry to maximize thermal insulation through a thermal insulation chamber. The simple rigging of the brick shows another way of reinterpreting the materials used on the construction site, using a “rope” rigging that understands the vertical cuts of the architectural holes, generating exceptions in the system with the rotation of the same pieces. The sunk terracotta mortar flees from an industrial environment and combines wooden carpentry and non-recessed lights to create a warm atmosphere. The living room is the heart of the house and connects both levels thanks to its double height.

By Jon Dykstra · See their LinkedIn.