The custom-millwork kitchens are bracketed by cruciform columns. Photo © Alejandro Gómez Vives

Another difficulty presented by the site was access. On the northern facade, which is composed with traditional balcony windows, as required by local regulations for the historic district, a large oak door, not unlike the carriage entries found in the historic urban houses of the upper class, opens to a hydraulic platform that moves cars to and from the basement garage. With the main living spaces occupying the rest of the facade, the architect made the radical decision to locate the main entry door, together with the vertical circulation, on the other side of the lot, accessible from around the block, at the end of a narrow private cul-de-sac that opens from the corner of a nearby plaza. Known as an atzucat for its Islamic origins, this paved space is closed off from the plaza with another monumental oak door. Like the project’s other outdoor spaces, including two 10-foot-square courts for the bedrooms and baths, the atzucat is planted with ferns and ivy that will cover the party walls. Other vegetation includes a line of five small cypress trees in the atzucat and a mature cypress in a light well at the end of the large rear patio, which connects a basement workspace to the outdoors.

Plantings in the atzucat will cover the party walls. Photo © Alejandro Gómez Vives

Balconies on the facade, required by local code, overlook a historic plaza. Photo © Alejandro Gómez Vives

The heart of the family home is the top-floor terrace, with its 25-foot swimming pool, a mature lemon tree set in a bed of lavender, and a paellero, a wood-burning brick oven for making paella, the famous local specialty. Dominating the view are the tiled dome of a 19th-century chapel and a Romanesque church tower, both located just across the rear patio. “They seem to be on top of you,” Fernández-Llebrez relates. “You hear the bells as if you were inside the tower. The clients love it,” he continues, “and they’ve already picked a couple of lemons from the tree to make gin and tonics.”

On the top floor, large sliding doors lead to the terrace. Photo © Alejandro Gómez Vives

The organization of urban living around these private outdoor spaces is echoed in the rich history of the site, uncovered in mandatory archaeological excavations. The most splendid find was an 11th-century Islamic patio with a well-preserved hexagonal fountain finished in colored tiles, though it was claimed for a public collection, per Spanish law. Exceptions were made, however, for some of the blue-and-white tiles from a 15th-century patio, which now pave a section of the atzucat, and a Roman well, which can be seen under glass that paves a section of the basement, together with a few amphoras from the client’s collection.

A Roman well, on display under glass, was discovered during excavation. Photo © Alejandro Gómez Vives

Beset by history on all sides, the architect nevertheless created thoroughly contemporary homes, with their master suites, multiple baths, and large living spaces suitable for both casual family life and entertaining. That said, the design also builds on the best of those traditions, taking on a noble scale and subtle elegance on its own terms.

Image courtesy Fernández-Llebrez Arquitectura

Image courtesy Fernández-Llebrez Arquitectura