Inside a Semi-Buried Eco-Home in the Hills of Barcelona

Architectural Digest

Join AD just north of Barcelona to tour Semienterrada with architect Javier Barba and current owner Ezequiel Pini. Designed in the 1980s by Barba, this home’s name translates to ‘half-buried’ and is a pioneering example of sustainable and bioclimatic architecture in Spain. Blending seamlessly into the landscape, Semienterrada was ahead of its time in using natural insulation, passive solar design, and organic materials to create a harmonious and energy-efficient living space. Discover how its innovative design continues to inspire a new generation of architects and environmentalists today.

Transcript

00:00It was a declaration of intentions, because I always believed that the integrated architecture must be able to strengthen it.

00:11And that's the beginning of the architecture, the happiness of the human beings.

00:21The terrain is a very inclined terrain, with some views towards the south.

00:28And the terrain is oriented towards the west.

00:32So, the drawing of the house was given as it marked the south.

00:40The south is the best orientation for a bioclimatic house.

00:44It's when the sun is high and heats up the top of the roof.

00:49So, you have to protect in the Mediterranean climates in the summer.

00:53In the winter, what is the opposite is that the sun, which is much lower, enter in the house to heat it.

00:59It's a total principle of a concept of architecture,

01:03integrated in the landscape,

01:05respetuously with it,

01:07and, at the same time, bioclimatically, that it works, frankly, well.

01:11Because the best isolation that there is is the earth.

01:15By taking a lot of attention,

01:17the cover of the excavation that was done was put on the cover,

01:22and then it was gardened.

01:24The interior of the landscape is what it needs to be.

01:26The interior of the landscape is what it needs to be.

01:28It's not only the architect has to project the house in situ,

01:32but then it has to go away

01:34to see the people who have been looking for a lot of years,

01:36who have been looking for that place,

01:38how it is discovered.

01:40This house is not discovered,

01:42because it is entirely integrated in the landscape.

01:44It has to be seen in the landscape.

01:50What I found from a house that Foco built for so long,

01:5440 years old,

01:56which is almost my age,

01:58is the vision that I had had,

02:00even though the antiquity,

02:03the respect for what is around,

02:06the interaction with the nature,

02:08the ceiling on the ceiling,

02:10and also the style that it has,

02:13the form, the geometry.

02:15I am a graphic designer

02:17and all this part

02:18seemed to be very advanced.

02:20It is still being actual.

02:22It is the form,

02:24the essence of the form,

02:25it is never lost.

02:26And this house is already materialized

02:28in walls.

02:29And that is what I have to do most.

02:32Despite all these years,

02:33it is still feeling very actual.

02:37Ignacio,

02:38the proprietor of the interior,

02:39with whom I have done a good relationship with the time,

02:41and at the end,

02:42he also looked for a connection

02:44of who will be living in this house.

02:47And, well,

02:48he respirated much love for this project

02:51and, well,

02:52I am here to extend it,

02:54in some way.

02:55I thought it was right to open the door

02:58to see it.

03:00There was a lot of people who didn't know it,

03:02who didn't know it,

03:03who didn't know it.

03:05and,

03:06I think,

03:07from the beginning of the moment

03:08that I came to see it,

03:09it seemed like a great maestro.

03:14In that moment,

03:15when I was talking about sustainability

03:17or being aware of the environment

03:18and being aware of the environment,

03:20it was very natural.

03:2140 years ago,

03:22it was not.

03:23And this sensitivity

03:25for the nature,

03:26for the landscape,

03:27but at the same time

03:28for the architecture

03:29and all these knowledge

03:30that are integrated,

03:31I think it's also something

03:32that I feel,

03:33but in my world,

03:34with the natural

03:35but maybe

03:37to a digital world,

03:38or how the digital components

03:40that are with whom I grew up,

03:42I lead to something

03:43more sensitive

03:44or more respectful

03:46with the material,

03:47with other disciplines

03:48that I love

03:49and that I love

03:50and that I respect so much.

03:51I think that

03:52this sensitivity

03:53is very unique

03:54and there are people

03:55who can have it

03:56and others who don't.

03:57Others who acquire it,

03:58others who train it,

03:59but I think that

04:00that connection

04:01that, as simple as

04:02as we feel,

04:03and that

04:04I feel that

04:05I can't be able to share it.

04:06I'm able to share it.

04:07What is it like?

04:10In any project,

04:11you have to travel

04:12through the terrain

04:13and discover

04:14all the pre-existencies

04:15natural

04:16that there are,

04:17from the rocks,

04:18from the birds,

04:19from the trees,

04:20from the trees,

04:21from the trees,

04:22everything.

04:23So,

04:24all this inspired,

04:25for example,

04:26a tree can start

04:27to design a business

04:28of a house

04:29because it can be in a patio.

04:31A rock can start to be like a building.

04:34So all these elements are fundamental

04:37for an integrated architecture.

04:39The rock of the area is granitic.

04:42So the mud broken with a river of river,

04:46which is the design of the facade,

04:49is much mimetic with all the rocks of the place.

04:52So, in some way, the idea was

04:55that the ground was going up to the house

04:58and it was completely integrated with it.

05:00The biggest difficulty that this project can have

05:03is the entrance from behind.

05:05What happens is that when you go down,

05:07it's like a hole in the ground,

05:09you go down and you open the window

05:10and suddenly you see the sea and the interior of the house.

05:13This adds an interesting sensibility to the project.

05:17And then also thinking

05:19that if one day someone would do a house,

05:21that the level of living of this house

05:24was sufficiently high

05:26so that the view never cut off.

05:29It's also important to match all these topics

05:32for the development of a logical and balanced project.

05:39Someone who loves architecture,

05:41like him,

05:43and discover this house that

05:46doesn't stop being,

05:47because of the past time,

05:48and because of what they did,

05:49an interesting house,

05:51and also,

05:52that solves some fundamental problems,

05:55it segregates a empathy.

05:58We are, like I would say,

06:01of the same family.

06:03He likes art,

06:05he is artist,

06:07this house is also artist,

06:09so that, in principle,

06:11the connection was immediate.

06:14Inmediate.

06:15Inmediate.

06:16To have Javier is a privilege,

06:18because,

06:19I can call him

06:21and consult him,

06:23and well,

06:24to have the house,

06:25and understand him,

06:26and to know more about him.

06:27So,

06:28I already have a great point of the game,

06:30but, well,

06:31there are challenges,

06:32and also,

06:33I am evolving in my practice.

06:35In this,

06:36this journey

06:37of 15 years

06:38that I am going on,

06:40where I am going

06:41through different sectors,

06:43and manifest different curiosities.

06:49With the first computer

06:50that I knew,

06:51that came from France,

06:52the first,

06:53that did an analysis

06:55of the temperature of the house

06:56for a whole year,

06:58the monitor program

07:00that explained

07:01the project,

07:02how it was done,

07:03and then,

07:04the energy management

07:05of the house.

07:06There was a thermal

07:08surge

07:09between 4 and 6 degrees

07:11between winter and winter,

07:12which was surprising.

07:14Why?

07:15Because the Earth

07:16is the better

07:17isolation.

07:18As an example,

07:19of an architecture

07:20that at that time

07:21was quite innovative,

07:22although,

07:23in many places

07:24had been done

07:25in many places,

07:26to be responsible

07:28for the studies

07:29to create

07:30this architecture

07:31more eco,

07:32that they said

07:34that it was eco.

07:35But,

07:36I always thought

07:37that this house

07:38in that moment

07:39was logical.

07:40I would like to see

07:41the living room

07:42as well as the living room.

07:43I would like to see

07:44the living room

07:45as well as the living room.

07:46I would like to see

07:47the living room

07:48as well as the living room.

07:49Personally,

07:50my favorite part

07:51is the living room

07:52for the circle

07:53and then,

07:54because it has a view.

07:55So,

07:56it's my favorite part.

07:57My favorite part

07:58of the house

07:59is the living room,

08:00but I don't want to choose

08:01the same

08:02as Javier,

08:03so I'm going to go up.

08:04It's the area

08:05with the view

08:06more panoramic

08:07and more beautiful

08:08of all the environment

08:09and that

08:10asom a little

08:11what you discover

08:12later.

08:13And,

08:14having some

08:15paths

08:16with the architecture

08:17with the walls

08:18and other things

08:19that start to come

08:20and the concrete

08:21and the stones

08:22that I think

08:23is amazing.

08:24When you discover

08:25that there is an entrance

08:26there,

08:27it's even more magic.

08:29It's like

08:30I want to enter

08:31and see

08:32what there is

08:33inside.

08:34When I need

08:36I need

08:37to go up

08:38and go up

08:39and walk

08:40there.

08:47I think

08:48that

08:49the most important

08:50of the architecture

08:51is

08:52the harmony.

08:53Well,

08:54as Javier did

08:55at the moment,

08:56I imagine

08:57he had a lot of freedom

08:58to create

08:59and this freedom

09:00allows you

09:01to create

09:02without limits.

09:03The fact

09:04to manifest

09:05that

09:06in a future

09:07in a canvas

09:08that

09:09in the case

09:10of Javier

09:11was the ground

09:12for me

09:13it is the house.

09:14So,

09:15this extension

09:16is the one I would like

09:17to see

09:18in a future

09:19perhaps

09:20to be able to

09:21see.

09:22This house

09:23for me

09:24is a medium

09:25of expression

09:26and,

09:27although my

09:28medium of expression

09:29was the digital world

09:30that is the one I know

09:31and the one I was developing

09:32all this time,

09:33I would like to see

09:35how I can manifest

09:37many of these curiosities

09:38or many of these

09:39experiments

09:40here.

09:41I hope

09:42that they are very happy

09:43and that is the

09:44beginning of the architecture,

09:45the happiness

09:46of human beings.

09:47of human beings.

09:48of human beings.

09:49of human beings.

09:50of human beings.

09:51of human beings.

09:52of human beings.

09:53of human beings.

09:54of human beings.

09:55of human beings.

09:56of human beings.

09:57of human beings.

09:58of human beings.

09:59of human beings.

10:00of human beings.

10:01of human beings.

10:02of human beings.

10:03of human beings.

10:04of human beings.

10:05of human beings.

10:06of human beings.

10:07of human beings.

10:08of human beings.

10:09of human beings.

10:10of human beings.

10:11of human beings.

10:12of human beings.

10:13of human beings.

10:14of human beings.

10:15of human beings.

10:16of human beings.

10:17of human beings.

10:18of human beings.

10:19of human beings.

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