House of the sun is a project designed by Fran Silvestre Arquitectos. We have always been fascinated by the work of Andreu Alfaro “The door of the Universe” made in 1983. A circle rotated and suspended over a square. For some years it was located at the door of our studio, and it was surprising its ability to make us think, place ourselves at the base when the day ended and consider that we were indeed facing a threshold that opened the door to infinite space.

 

An analogous effect is felt when visiting the “In Praise of the Horizon” carried out by Eduardo Chillida in 1989 in Gijón. Where according to the author himself, the viewer is placed in direct relationship with the work and with the Universe. Chillida himself wondered: “Will not the present be, like the horizon, another border, another limit, another place without dimension always full of questions?” This idea of open centrality, as a representation of something immeasurable, has fascinated humanity forever and architecture has echoed this fascination countless times.
With these references continually going around in our minds, a place appeared in the city of Marbella, on a plot of great slope and at an elevated level that provides fantastic views. The place would seem ideal to place an astronomical observatory, but the proposed program was a house. We propose to embrace with a circle a space open to the sky and the horizon, and simultaneously protected from the gaze of others and the powerful winds of the area. The upper level rooms open in a controlled way towards specific landmarks of the landscape, while the public area enjoys the relationship with the main and open space. Perhaps in this way we can live on a daily basis in this space that has always captivated us, a place where what is evident in nature is difficult or impossible to achieve.
Photography courtesy of Fran Silvestre Arquitectos