Nestled in pine groves 45 miles east of central Madrid, the nine-mile-long San Juan reservoir is the only lake in the region where swimming and water sports are permitted. As a result, a bucolic 1960s subdivision on the shores of its eastern extremity has become a sought-after location for upmarket weekend houses. In 2017, after acquiring one of the few remaining virgin plots, a Madrid-based client, who is a keen jet skier, commissioned four local architecture firms to draft plans for a family vacation home. “They were all very different,” he says of this mini-competition, “and my wife and I liked more than one. But after 10 minutes’ discussion, I knew we’d work with estudio_entresitio—they were so open, attentive, and patient.” The feeling, it turned out, was mutual. “This kind of architecture is impossible with someone who doesn’t care,” says María Hurtado de Mendoza Wahrolén, cofounder alongside César Jiménez de Tejada Benavides of the 2007 Design Vanguard firm. “But our client is even more intense than we are!”
Though ideally located on the waterfront, the site was challenging: rocky, steep (a 45-degree incline), and bound by restrictive regulations that were subject to unpredictable interpretation by the mayor. Moreover, neighboring houses often flooded when the rare rains came. “To avoid administrative headaches,” the client explains, “we made several decisions: minimal leveling; no concrete, except where unavoidable; just one story, to be sure we complied with the prohibition on rising more than 23 feet above grade; and timber construction, to minimize building time and water consumption.” In addition, he specified accommodation comprising four bedrooms (primary, guest, two for children), a generous living/dining/kitchen area, parking (prohibited on the street), staff quarters, and, of course, ample outdoor space.
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