by Susana A. Herrera and Jose M. Heras

When beginning to design a house, we believe an architect should consider new ways of thinking about dwelling. Every circumstance is different, changing with time, place, and client. New building technologies, site idiosyncrasies, social factors, and the client's personality can combine to suggest a unique approach.

Even a modest house can be full of complexity when constructive and spatial variables overlap with sociological factors. In this sense, we are interested in exploring beyond established social factors to those that reveal new experiences of space.

This recent project, a house for a single engineer, is an example of this experimentation. FACTORIA Design attempted a process of synthesis in which we had to rethink every question about designing a space for dwelling.

The client is a food engineer and industrial production manager of a fish canning plant. He is constantly involved with machines and production chains. On one hand, he wanted his new home to provide an escape from the plant; on the other hand, he wanted the house to reflect concepts of efficiency, which he works with and values.

As the house's single inhabitant, our client does not fit the typical profile of "family." He interacts with his domestic space, its surroundings, and its views in a very different way than if he had a traditional family with children.   >>>

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Entrance to a house designed and built for an engineer by FACTORIA Design and Construction Ltd. Photo: Jose Miguel Heras North and west facades of the glass box volume. Photo: Jose Miguel Heras   Click on thumbnail images to view full-size pictures.