fran silvestre arquitectos designs 'house of silence' with hidden, elevated patios

spanish studio fran silvestre arquitectos realizes its ‘house of silence’ in the residential area of la cañada, valencia. with the minimally designed project, photographed by fernando guerra, the team hybridizes a dwelling and a music studio. while the surrounding context is characterized as a dense neighborhood where houses are built very close to each other, the project calls for the inclusion of sunny patio spaces closed off from its neighbors.

images by fernando guerra | @fernandogguerra

fran silvestre arquitectos designs the ‘house of silence’ as a a semi-buried volume, the music studio below the level of the ground plane. the interior, with its optimized acoustic quality, takes form as a concrete enclosure within an outer concrete volume. this volume divides the ground floor into the entrance hall and the public area of the house, open to the garden and the pool. the design team realizes this shared space — both the exterior as well as the pavement and the pool — with natural cement mortars which celebrate grey, monochromatic hues.

the second level of the residence suggests a monolithic white block that floats atop the grey ground plane. this upper volume, clad in white lime mortar, is programmed as a nighttime area with private sleeping spaces. the space is seemingly closed to the environment, but opens outward a pair of walled rooftop gardens. the design team describes this area as ‘a kind of intimate patio where you can enjoy nature and silence.’

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project info:

project title: house of silence

architecture: fran silvestre arquitectos

interior design: alfaro hofmann

location: la cañada, valencia, spain

completion: 2020

photography: fernando guerra | @fernandogguerra

design team: fran silvestre, ricardo candela, maría masià, sevak asatrián, fran ayala

building engineer: carlos garcia

structural engineer: windmill

financial manager: ana de pablo

marketing and communication: sara atienza

collaborators: pablo camarasa, estefanía soriano, sandra insa, vicente picó, rubén march, jose manuel arnao, rosa juanes, gemma aparicio, paz garcia-españa, ángel pérez, andrea baldo, blanca larraz, jorge puig, carlos lucas, miguel massa, paloma feng, alicia simón, marta soler, gino brollo, angelo brollo, bruno mespulet, javi herrero, alba gonzalez, tatiana villarroel