I Premio de Arquitectura Miguel Martín-Fernández de la Torre

AN INVISIBLE IMAGE
We were commissioned the restoration of a cave at
Barranco de Guayedra, Agaete. Dug by man, it was an
underground space made up of five rooms that were
communicated by a central gallery. The only outside
ventilation and light came through the gallery and one
of the rooms, where there were remains of an old kitchen
and bathroom hugging the mountain face. We rebuilt the
kitchen and bathroom in their original locations and we
converted the room open to the outside as a continuation
of the kitchen. We kept the entrance of natural light and
ventilation through this natural opening. The other rooms
became a small reading room, a dressing room and the
other two became double bedrooms.
The space is magic because all the main features of the
place’s nature came into plat and were present: earth,
air, light and sea. We did not need any other resources to
empower these values. The works were carried out with
a continuous fight against a mountain that did not want
to be domesticated. The cave would talk to us when we
touched it. As if waking from a long hibernation, we felt as
if we were not welcome visitors. The most difficult aspect
was integrating the structural reinforcements into the
mountain’s guts. It was extremely demanding and the
inside spaces were very small to bring in the machinery
and to manipulate the material resources. Finally, we
managed it with constant hard work and, above all, by
respecting the environment, reinforcing where necessary
but always in harmony with the logics of its natural
structure.
However, the walls would crumble to the touch and
the second great challenge was to find a solution to
remove the abrasion while at the same time respecting
the habitability qualities. We turned to a classic: lime,
various layer reinforced with graphene. Lime is ecologic,
breathable and antiseptic, and graphene provides it
an extra hardness, resistance and flexibility. Aware that
being underground can be suffocating, we searched for
resources that would provide light, air, visual cleanness
and spaciousness. The walls are the most attractive
aspect of the cave. They breath, self-regulate the
temperature inside the space and absorb noise, therefore,
we left them nude. There are niches instead of cupboards
or wardrobes and lighting is indirect by the reflection of
the vault.
Thermal comfort is provided by nature, although health
is not. We wanted to improve the circulation of fresh air
in the inner rooms. The entrance of air is natural, but we
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