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U house - Structure start
The structure rises up, the reinforced concrete walls start to grow and shape the space. The photo sent by the worker himself, proud of his work, stimulates us. Although the safety at work regulation is at the limit, it shows a passionate worker committed to his work until the small details. We remember of course the iconic photo taken at the construction of the Rockefeller Center in New York, Lunch atop a skyscraper. Altea Hills and New York, maybe a similar height to watch the skyline, maybe a better view the mediterranean one.
Complete refurbishment in Alicante
This house, of almost 40 years, has a relative good state, with reinforced concrete structure and large surfaces. But the hierarchy of the spaces and its relation, the size of the windows and the general orientation of all the property have a potential future with the transformation of some elements. The garden outside is a mesh and there are a lot of obstacles from inside towards outside.
Project: The first step has been to set the place for the main home space. Then with this decided the rest came. The whole interior space has been modified in order to have an open continuous space. To achieve this, a very important part of the structure had to be changed and we had to design completely new stairs to fulfill our target. Besides, the relations between inside and outside will be strengthened . The garden is redesigned assembling areas to enjoy all the elements properly.
Sirine Ghadban
U house - Foundations
The foundations of the house are finished before the summer break. It is the base for the house, a reinforced concrete slab. The next step, the retaining walls, that will support the upper level.
Sirine Ghadban
U house - Start
The construction of our last project has started. After the excavation, this is going to be the exact view from the main living space of the house. Despite of the high temperature of these days, we are delighted of checking a well worked project in our weekly site visits.
Sirine Ghadban
Strokes on the sand
We visited this exposition last day, Trazos en la arena, from Joaquín Sorolla, the valencian famous painter. It was at the museum that used to be his house in Madrid. The house is made with bits from each place. The mediterranean garden has a great influence from the Alhambra, and inside the valencian ceramic is on the dishes and on the walls. The house, where light plays a main role, shows yet some matters of the modern architecture from the beginnings of XXth century.
We were fascinated watching the light from his brush-strokes, and we kept in mind this quotation. Because it shows the fact of thinking while drawing, or drawing while thinking: the great meaning that is behind a stroke. A sketch, although not strictly materialised, will always be a required step to the project.
Sirine Ghadban
We grow
Arquixabia was founded in 2006. Since then, the projects have been growing day by day, in terms of scale or complexity. In the last years our geographic scope had also expanded. Now it is time to update our appearance: Ghadban de Pascual architects shows us as we are. And with the structure of this new website we offer the sample of what we are passionate about. Thanks to Paco from www.delaweb.net to let us show the reality of our soul.
We do not build houses, we design dreams.
Sirine Ghadban
Energy rating
Our house is our second skin. With the scientific and technological developments, construction is improving itself and also the quality level that is wanted from the buildings. Nevertheless, if this is required due to geopolitical reasons or contamination reduction, what an owner has at short term with a well insulated house is the energy consumption decrease.
However, a high insulation is not the only factor to provide more comfortable houses in comparison to those built in the previous years. A good isolation allows to store the heat inside of the house not letting it escape in winter and avoiding its entrance in summer. There are other complementary factors such as the solar protections that also allow the sun heat to enter the house only in winter avoiding it in summer.
Clínica Aliaga refurbishment
After over 30 years of work, the well-known Veterinary Clinic Aliaga needed a new refurbishment. In order to provide customers with better a service and support, we were requested by the directors to remodel the access area, the waiting room and the management and customer service desk.
Certificado de eficiencia energética
The lastest laws lead us to check the use of energy in our homes. As the european guidelines said some years ago, now is the turn for the national laws to apply these prescriptions. The thing that is simply new is that the houses now must have a label, similar to the ones that show the washing machines or the freezers when we buy them. With colours and letters this label tells us how good is the energy efficiency behavior of the house.
New York
Capitalism main city was born in a natural harbor, a proper place for commerce in industrial era. Dutch and British stablished here their base point between the old and the new world. Mannahatta, the original peninsula home of natives, became a big node of the industrial activity.
Formentera
The island condition in itself provides an isolated state, less contaminated. The geographical barriers limit the population growth, and the concept of limited resources is deeply present in the inhabitants mind. That is what many islands show a sublime landscape, not too much transformed by humans, an idyllic shelter.
La tosca
Javea’s local stone Tosca is a sandstone, resulting from the consolidation of the sea and its plenitude sand dunes (over 2.5 million years ago). The water bulk flow, the winds, and the atmosphere and climate conditions contributed to the consolidation and the cementing of the sand, as a result of the cartilage of calcium chloride, one the main elements of the mountains that form part of Javea´s landscape.
La iglesia del puerto
El conjunto parroquial “Virgen de Loreto” fue construido en el año 1961 según proyecto de los arquitectos GODB, en el puerto de Jávea. La nueva construcción, que sustituyó a la antigua ermita de los pescadores, se convirtió en la Parroquia del Mar. Se encuentra encajada en el apretado tejido de pequeñas viviendas y algunos edificios residenciales. Sus dos edificaciones principales: la capilla y las dependencias parroquiales se disponen en los límites del solar, dejando un espacio libre central y ajardinado que sirve de acceso. Las dependencias parroquiales se organizan con geometría regular junto a la medianera de la parcela. Y la capilla de formas curvas queda exenta junto a la calle, y cobra todo el protagonismo.
Vistas al mar
Vistas al mar, Sea view, Meerblick, Vue a la mer...
Javea is known as the Sunrise of Spain. A sunrise that comes from the sea. In many places there is a house with sea views.
© Sirine Ghadban
El margen (1)
La piedra es uno de los materiales más antiguos usados por el hombre para la construcción, y uno de los más duraderos, dado que se emplea directamente, sin realizar ninguna transformación que cambie sus propiedades principales.
Desde las primeras actividades agrícolas surge la necesidad de limpiar el campo de cultivo de piedras para facilitar esta labor. La consecuencia lógica es la formación de abancalamientos o aterrazamientos en zonas de terreno inclinado, la delimitación de distintas propiedades mediante muros, o los menos frecuentes clopers (mallorquines), acumulaciones de piedras en zonas no aptas para el cultivo, de imagen escultural.
Como toda tradición cultural y creada por la necesidad, esta técnica ha ido transformando lentamente el paisaje y entrando a formar parte de él de manera natural, al tratarse de una simple “ordenación del campo”, cambiar unas piedras de sitio.
Desde este primer concepto se podrían agrupar todas las modalidades de lo conocido como “pedra en sec”, que promueve la defensa de este patrimonio, presente en la región mediterránea de Cataluña, Comunidad Valenciana, Islas Baleares y sur de Francia, con la Declaración de Torroella de Montgrí, del 24 de octubre de 2004.
Hoy en día, en la Marina Alta, estos muros conocidos como “márgenes” han evolucionado ganando altura y resistencia con la ayuda de otros materiales más actuales, como el cemento para dar estabilidad al interior del muro. Y, gracias a la técnica del picapedrer o margenero, se crean muros de contención de muchas edificaciones y calles. Son múltiples las posibilidades o acabados, dependiendo del material elegido, dureza de la piedra y la técnica o habilidad empleadas.
Aparte de soluciones más convencionales o decorativas como los chapados o revestimientos, alejados de este concepto, existen otras soluciones constructivas que derivan de esta técnica, como son los gaviones o los muros de escollera, ambos empleados para grandes contenciones o nivelaciones de terreno.
Sirine Ghadban