{"id":1522,"date":"2025-04-28T17:56:13","date_gmt":"2025-04-28T17:56:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.camperscorner.net\/?p=1522"},"modified":"2025-05-02T18:07:51","modified_gmt":"2025-05-02T18:07:51","slug":"before-after-in-spain-an-architect-restores-an-iconic-home-built-by-his-grandparents","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.camperscorner.net\/index.php\/2025\/04\/28\/before-after-in-spain-an-architect-restores-an-iconic-home-built-by-his-grandparents\/","title":{"rendered":"Before & After: In Spain, an Architect Restores an Iconic Home Built by His Grandparents"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Set in Cadaqu\u00e9s, the \u201960s residence has a traditional stone facade and a surprising, hexagonal plan\u2014with no right angles in sight.<\/p>\n

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Set on the northeastern coast of Spain, Cadaqu\u00e9s was once an isolated fishing village before it rose to prominence in the 19th century as a summer hotspot for Barcelona bourgeois. Over the years, it\u2019s been home to Salvador Dal\u00ed and drawn all manner of artists\u2014from Matisse, Picasso, and Duchamp to Mick Jagger and Shakira.<\/p>\n

In the 1950s, a group of modern architects were equally beguiled, among them, Federico Correa and Alfonso Mil\u00e1 of the notable Barcelona firm Correa Mil\u00e1 Arquitectes<\/a>. Correa and Mil\u00e1 would later be known for projects like the rehabilitation of Pla\u00e7a Reial<\/a> in Barcelona in 1985 and the Montju\u00efc Olympic Ring<\/a> in 1984, but before that, they designed houses, many of which are in Cadaqu\u00e9s. <\/p>\n

Two of these homes have important place in history: Casa Villavecchia<\/a>, an adaptation of a vernacular fisherman\u2019s house in town, and Casa Rumeu, a dwelling set farther out in the surrounding hills. <\/p>\n

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Casa Rumeu was designed by Correa Mil\u00e1 Arquitectes in 1963 for the Rumeu family. While it is within walking distance of the center of Cadaqu\u00e9s, it feels separate, surrounded by olive groves. <\/p>\n

Simone Marcolin<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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For Casa Rumeu, completed in 1963, Correa Mil\u00e1 Arquitectes departed from the traditional whitewashed buildings found in town, and looked instead to the agricultural walls in the surrounding countryside. “The town is completely surrounded by these drystone walls built over decades and decades for the olive trees,” says architect Juan Gurrea Rumeu of Gr-os Architects<\/a>. “This house is surrounded by these massive gardens of stones, so they used the local stone to build it.”<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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Part of the remodel entailed creating more garden spaces, “especially within the olive tree plantations, which are an important component of the estate\u2019s overall charm,” says the owner.<\/p>\n

Simone Marcolin<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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While the material was traditional, and easy for local builders at the time to work with, the home\u2019s plan was more avant-garde: it consists of three conjoined hexagons, with nary a wall at a 90-degree angle. “What\u2019s very special about this house is that there\u2019s this tension between building very low-tech, with local and traditional materials, but then you see this more experimental intention in the plan,” says Rumeu. <\/p>\n

Before: Living and Dining Room <\/h4>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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Before: The goal of the renovation, undertaken by Architect Juan Gurrea Rumeu and his cousin, the owner, was to be minimally invasive to the original hexagon structure, including the exposed woodwork and built-ins.<\/p>\n

Courtesy of Gr-os Architects<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

See the full story on Dwell.com: Before & After: In Spain, an Architect Restores an Iconic Home Built by His Grandparents<\/a><\/b>
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