Casa en el Empordá
Creative direction:
Tarruella Trenchs
Responsible:
Sandra Tarruella
Collaborators:
Area:
Customer: Can Pardalet
Photographer: Eugeni Ponts
Trails running between green hills, a dominant Gothic church over the old stone town, orchards and stables, all of these made up the peasant landscape, and which partly still exists today.
It is in this area of Baix Empurdá, in the province of Girona, where the famous writer, Josep Pla – who was born in Palafrugell – wonderfully described the region.
The project was designed by the studio of Sandra Tarruella Interioristas, and created a vacation home aligned with the magnificent surroundings in which it is located- in the quiet town of Rupià – and having one of the best views of the Baix Empordà. Located in a beautiful setting that it is ideal for cycling activities, golf playing, horseback riding, enjoying the sea and gastronomy.
The house has kept certain traces of the original construction, a simple house that had been once a stable. Now, with the architectural intervention that includes the demolition of the main walls and the opening of a double height ceiling at the space meant for the living room, the comfortable sensation of its interiors is new and refreshing, well adapted to the needs and layout of a modern home.
The intervention of the house was a challenge given the state it was in. The aim was to create an ambience in accordance with the tranquility of the place, the natural light, and making the views the protagonist of the space.
The surfaces (walls, ceilings) were either whitewashed (white and sand colored) or covered with a cane from a company that specializes in natural fibers using artisan techniques. This diagonally interwoven reed ceiling creates a country ambience in the double height space. It has a rustic flare that it is accentuated with the oak wood floorings – with its natural knots – on the upper floor.
An ambience with rural reminiscences that extends throughout the house, where the use of natural fabrics, among other resources, are always present. The dining room (adjacent to the kitchen), has a light oak table and wicker chairs and screens, we found an elongated furniture piece that runs from wall to wall, in the exact place where the animals’ drinking trough was originally located. The ceiling treatment, with sand-colored whitewashed bricks and beams, in tone with the walls, completes the series of rustic features and large openings with views towards the garden.
On the outside, attached to the façade, a raw steel wire pergola was added, where two climbing plants – a bougainvillea and a vine – are growing.
At the garden, the common planting choices of the area were respected; olive trees, almond trees and wild plants, and in the lower part of the garden there is a saline treated swimming pool that it is finished in lime plaster and ceramic tile, and surrounded by both olive and medlar trees.