The studio Raúl Sánchez Architects has designed a home in Cala Tamarit (Tarragona) that transforms the slope into an architectural journey. The entrance is a staircase that descends to a sunken patio.
The house, designed for two people who work remotely, is situated on a hill on the Tarragona coast. Its owners sought materiality over immateriality, according to the studio, and the result is a house that unfolds progressively.
Access is via an exterior concrete staircase that descends towards a sunken garden patio. As you descend the steps, the reference to the surroundings is lost, leading into an intimate and quiet space, with tinted walls and the sky as the only ceiling.
A Double-Height Living Room as the Visual Core
From the patio, the entrance opens into a large double-height living area. After the compression of the descending path, the living room presents itself as a spacious and vertical environment, bathed in light and visually connected to different levels of the house.
“The house does not reveal itself all at once, but is discovered progressively,” explains the studio. “As you move through it, you find that it has much more to offer than it seems at first glance.”
Stepped Volumes and Infinity Pool
The House in Cala Tamarit is organised into two stepped volumes that create balconies and outdoor terraces linked to the natural slope. On the side opposite the sunken patio, the living room and kitchen open onto outdoor platforms at different levels. The upper area features a resting space, while the lower area includes an infinity pool that serves as a transition to the garden, which gently descends to a wooded ravine.
On the exterior, the house is entirely constructed of exposed pigmented concrete in a warm yellow tone, mandated by local urban regulations. This solid finish is softened by wooden ribs that protect the windows, providing shade and privacy. The result is an almost monolithic facade that interacts with the topography without blending in.
Inside, the concrete remains exposed and is combined with white surfaces designed to accommodate the owners' art collection. The layout is flexible and fluid, with the double height of the living room as the visual and spatial core around which the other rooms are articulated. A metal staircase, topped by a skylight, leads to the bedrooms on the upper floor. In contrast to the rawness of the concrete, these private areas incorporate built-in wooden wardrobes and tiled bathrooms that soften the domestic experience.
For readers interested in architecture or looking for ideas for a sloped home, this house demonstrates that a slope can be an ally rather than a problem. The key is to embrace the topography and turn the journey into a sensory experience. The house, recently completed, is not for sale, but serves as an example of how to integrate a building into challenging terrain without sacrificing comfort or design.
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