Atienza Maure Arquitectos refurbishes burnt-down El Priorato into a vacation home

The image of sparsely ornamented and monumentally acreaged private residences that dot the landscapes of European locales are frequently associated with drowsy vacations and experiences rich in cultural and natural remittances. The tall white stoic walls, enhanced by red clay roof tiles, tiny and narrow windows and wooden beams, appear like fortresses, old and grand, structured to protect and preserve, with a sanctuary—a space for refuge and repose—within its walls. It is in the preservation of such historically relevant spaces that archaic traditions and techniques are sustained and archival tales kept alive. Their revenance, against the recent outcroppings of modern structures, serve as sources of inspiration and a means to keep people grounded, in beliefs, traditions and histories that can otherwise be lost when primitive edificies and objects are out of sight. Hence, the affinity to archaic structures, and the subsequent desire to preserve, renovate, and maintain them.

One such renovation project, finished last year in Spain, is El Priorato, by Atienza Maure Arquitectos. Originally the residence of the prior of the Monastery of Oña, the 16^th century structure, in the Castilian region in Spain, had burnt down in a 2011 fire. The efforts of the Barcelona-based architectural studio, Atienza Maure Arquitectos, helped transform the ruins of the Spanish-style structure into a vacation house. 

The structure, located in Trespaderne, a town in the province of Burgos, Castile and León, in Spain, was renovated over a span of four years, from 2018 to 2022. When the building renovation was first approached by the architectural studio, only the stone walls, the staircase, the vault underneath it, and the voussoirs of the collapsed arches were standing erect. The Spanish firm not only refurbished the existing structure, but also inserted spaces that replicate the original structure and hence, complete it. This was a challenge in itself since even the images of the original structure were not available to the architects.

The completed structure includes the juxtaposition of rugged stone walls and polished concrete elements. This mix of the older elements with the new ones creates an interesting contrast within the structure, one defined by textures and finishing instead of colour or style. Saturated with variations of the colour white, the indoor expanse appears vast and unending, and capable of triggering important moments of introspection. Even the furnishings added within the structure are toned down and simply shaped. Against a white backdrop, the browns, blacks, and silvers of structural parts and permanent furniture stand out, almost like sculptural additions worthy of undivided attention.

One of the firm's main intents for the renovation architecture was a heavy influx of light into the indoor spaces. Scoping the usage of "light as a material,” the architects approached the design of the structure with the intention of opening up holes and hollows to light up the residence in a manner such that seated within its walls one can enjoy the mop of nature, unfiltered. “Between new arches of white concrete, skylights seek to bring brightness deep into the lower spaces of the building through a second stairwell, which skilled workers of the comarca placed right beside the old one,” the studio shares.

Earlier, the northern facade of El Priorato was buried due to the steep slope of the site. The unevenness of the Calle Mayor cut off the ground floor from natural light as well as views to the orchard, hence rendering it dark and uninhabitable. Without disturbing the historic stone facades of the structures, the architects managed to usher light into the structure through five skylights that span from intermediate floors to common spaces on the ground floor. These skylights let in to two large atriums. Apart from serving as a common space, the atrium is also the point of emergence of two parallel stairways. While one of these is the original rugged stone staircase, the other one is a steel and concrete one, cast in the same width. “This allows configuring a sequence of spaces on different levels, illuminated from above and framed by stone and concrete arches,” the architects assert.

Since the refurbishment of the structure required the addition of new structural and spatial elements, the architects, while integrating the usage of modern materials such as concrete and steel, levied additional attention to building a system that bore semblance to the austerity apparent in the original ruins of the structure. The resultant interior design is hence writ with structural, material, tonal, and spatial configurations similar to the older part of the structure.

Sharing insights on the contrasting additions to the interiors, the architecture studio says, “The new elements that do not contain analogies with the originals are treated as light pieces of steel and wood, with systems that combine traction and compression as structural balance games. The constructive solutions have been raised following the maxim of Adolf Loos of the architect as a mason who knows Latin, in a constant dialogue with the workers of the region.”

The beauty of El Priorato lies in its spatial treatment and colour palettes. It is a space that does not obstruct views, or limit movement. Instead, it enhances the experience of the space by offering multiplied routes, for both locomotion and visual reconnoitres through the holiday house. By presenting itself as a three-dimensional blank canvas, it invites its free appropriation, for purposes and functions of one’s desire and interest. In doing so, it physically metaphors the idea of adaptive reuse—to allow versatile modification, regulation and adaptation for varied means and purposes.

Project Details

Name: El Priorato
Location: Trespaderne, Burgos. Spain
Area: 750 square metres
Year of completion: 2022
Architect: Atienza Maure Arquitectos
Design team: Alonso Atienza, Miguel A. Maure, Pablo Hernando, Juan Muñoz
Landscape: Mingo Basarrate