Author: Tile of Spain
Earning top honors in the Architecture category of this year’s prestigious Tile of Spain Awards is Casa Ter, an enchanting bungalow crafted by architecture studio, MESURA. Nestled in the hillside of Baix Empordà, Spain, Casa Ter pays homage to the environment it inhabits through its deep connection to nature.
In respect of the physical and cultural values of the local area, the MESURA team made an executive decision to construct the majority of the home with ceramic materials, since ceramic is one of the most widely used natural materials in the nearby La Bisbal area. Only a small structural portion of the home was assembled with concrete.
It is this attention to detail that earned the project notable accolade from the jury presiding over the awards.
“The jury praised the versatile use given to one single material, in positions and functions of all kinds, lending the project a discrete yet rich appeal,” stated Jury President, Kengo Kuma. “They also highlighted the reinterpretation of a traditional material in a context in which the home revitalizes the landscape and its surroundings.”
Built as a single-story home, with a distinct indoor/outdoor floor plan, Casa Ter opens up to the breathtaking landscape it sits upon to create a personal sense of place, in close contact with the native elements it’s surrounded by.
Divided into two sections, the house offers guests a shared living space on one end of the home, with bedrooms and bathrooms on the other end to offer more privacy. The two areas come together at the center of the home with a spacious barrier-free dining area that leads out to the yard.
Handmade terracotta adorns the flooring inside of Casa Ter and carries out to the connecting patio. From there a small descending staircase extends to an alluring pool area. This design feature embodies the ideal Mediterranean lifestyle of Spain.
The same tiles have been cut and installed on the facade in a unique horizontal application to create an illusion of the house resting above the land. The ceramic pieces are also placed on select walls inside the home, serving as an expansion joint for the one-coat render and act as a protective barrier between the walls, windows, and other openings in the home’s structure.
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