Design Buy Build Issue 26 2017 | Page 25

N owadays, life demands a really flexible architecture beyond the strictly functional one. The archetypal being of the house is to become the stage for each act of the daily life of its inhabitants: from the ordinary to the extraordinary ones. Casa Mirasierra is an essential house, where server elements are reduced in order to maximize free served spaces, with cross ventilation and natural lighting, looking for a real adaptability of its use overall time. This idea is translated to the exterior into a clear volume open to north and south, so that the distant view of the  Madrid  Mountain Range is always the background of the house. The design gives a special attention to energy saving and sustainability criteria. On one hand, passive strategies, such as an excellent form factor (Surface/Volume=0.37), thermal insulation, the good orientation, lighting and cross-ventilation of all rooms or a flexible sun screens system reduce the energy demand.  On the other hand, active strategies based on the use of geothermal energy for hot water and the floor heating system, combined with the use of an enthalpy recovering air vent for the mechanical ventilation, get reduce the energy consumption of the building as much as possible. IMAGE CREDIT MIGUEL FERNANDEZ-GALIANO 51 25