The House on the Edge

The House on the Edge, an avant garde private residence on the Granadina coast, proves it is possible to construct a building that is both accessible and innovative, conceived from a deep respect of traditional trades and the love or nature.

Totally carved into an steep 42º slope facing the sea, the proyect makes the most of a difficult plot of land. Only its roof, one of the most technically complex and defining features of the project, covered with shingles made of elZinc zinc-titatanium, gives it away.

The land owners challenged GilBartolomé Architects to conceive a house in a complicated and steeply inclined plot in Salobreña, on Granada´s coast. Their dream was to create enjoyable interior spaces facing the sea, and by virtue of an artisan and humaine architecture, be in perfect harmony with nature. The result is a spectacular house built right into the cliff, in perfect symbiosis with it´s surroundings.

The house is protected by a curved, single-span reinforced concrete roof slab, covered with zinc scales, which plays with the land’s geometry and which is the most striking and visible part of the ensamble.

An appropriate combination of technical innovation and artisan know-how has been a key element in reducing costs and making the Cliff House come true. The twin desires to do things right and to be different are particularly patent in one of the principal features of the house, and perhaps the most complex – the zinc-scaled roof – which brings to mind a reclining dragon´s silver loin or sea spray, depending on the observer’s point of view.

A unique project such as this required the selection of a sustainable and nobel material, that would allow a differentiating, craftmanslike treatment of the roof to contribute to the project´s added value. Zinc, a natural element widely used in building for centuries, was the perfect solution. Asturiana de Laminados, the Spanish zinc producer known worldwide, was selected by GilBartolomé Architects for the specific characteristics of its elZinc material.

The light weight of elZinc, as well as its special malleability which allowed for the hand forming of the scales, were essential factors in the decision, since they would later become the project’s hallmark.

The purity of elZinc Natural fits perfectly in a project designed from a sustainable standpoint. An especially alive material, it naturally develops a protective, corrosion-resistant patina over time, and thus it requires minimal maintenence.

Using a system of hand-made shuttering and deformable metal mats, the roof was built at a much lower cost than would have been possible with conventional methods (wooden shuttering or structural steel). The shingles, made of elZinc, were simply fixed to wooden battens which also provided a cost saving when compared to other systems. Time will give them their very own protective patina and changing tones, ennobling its appearance even more and progresively mimicking the inmediate environment.

This creative and efficient solution for the roof has been possible thanks to the colaboration of profesional craftsmen who have carried it off impeccably from a technical point of view. The implication with the project of various other trades has also enabled the conception of the furniture in the house.

The dwelling also boasts a grand domestic theatre, an open, 150m2 ground floor that can work as an auditorium for 70 people, as a ball room o cater for various simultainous group activities.

- See more at: http://www.elzinc.es/blog/en/#sthash.3PcFEiJR.dpuf