Efficient and environmentally friendly buildings.

Gonzalez & Jacobson Architecture and their architects in Sotogrande participates in a design competition for a residential complex in Torreguadiaro, San Roque, Cadiz.

The architectural proposal draws inspiration from the land itself. Volumes, materials, colours, and textures are arranged to create a unified whole, perfectly adapted to and respectful of the environment.

After exploring various aspects of an architectural competition entry in previous posts, we now address the final element: the architectural plan.

From conception to layout and proper orientation of spaces, the aim is to create efficient buildings with minimal energy demands. The project’s goal is to establish a community where future residents are aware of the importance of living in a pleasant, healthy, and environmentally friendly space.

Organic forms generated through lines, edges, and protrusions create bold, aesthetically pleasing spaces with a simple structure, allowing for easy and affordable construction.

The landscaping , designed by the architects in Sotogrande for the residential complex and its surroundings, is highly attractive, highlighting the area’s inherent values with sustainability criteria. The landscape design draws inspiration from the low mountain and dune ecosystems, both in plant selection and spatial organisation.

Gardens will envelop the residential blocks, integrating buildings into the landscape while considering desirable views and nearby elements like common areas, pedestrian paths, and pools.

All structures will combine passive and active design systems (as project budget allows) to create a mixed model. The proposal also includes developing prototype homes employing additional bioclimatic solutions.

DETACHED AND SEMI-DETACHED HOUSES

The proposal by the architects in Sotogrande, features 31 detached luxury villas in one area and 53 free-standing townhouses in another. These could potentially include an extra room and even a mini-pool on the solarium level.

The architectural programme includes 4-bedroom homes developed on ground floor + 1, with a habitable roof as a solarium.

All spaces will feature large windows for proper ventilation and natural lighting. Southern or optimal orientation will be sought to enhance views and generate energy savings.

A proposed Condominium Terrace development of 80 homes, each with at least 3 bedrooms, distributed on ground floor + 1, with a habitable roof as a solarium, similar to other terraced houses.

HOTEL

A 4-star hotel complex is planned by the architects in Sotogrande , featuring 115 rooms, spacious lounges, terraces, dining areas, a wellness zone, gym, and social club1. The facility will also include parking and all necessary auxiliary spaces for proper operation.

The proposal is distributed across 4 rectangular modules, each measuring up to 30 x 30 meters, connected by walkways at different levels. These walkways link all spaces and central plazas that form part of the Eco-village.

ECO LAB

CENTRE FOR SUSTAINABLE ARCHITECTURE AND FUTURE TECHNOLOGIES RESEARCH.

An ECO-LAB space has been proposed. This facility will serve as an inter-institutional hub for advice, education, training, and action, enabling the population to adopt new forms of production that harmonise with the territory and ecosystem.

The ECO-LAB represents an ambitious and intriguing aspect of the project, aiming to create a space for interdisciplinary development and convergence to generate creative and innovative projects in sustainable resources and design for sustainability.  Certainly, it is an ambitious and highly interesting aspect of the project.

This concludes our series of articles. Many other aspects complete the project, such as applicable regulations and laws, among others. Detailing these would be too extensive. The most visual part has been presented here, and we hope the architectural proposal from our studio in Marbella and our architects in Sotogrande has been to your liking.