The plot, in the historic centre of Retortillo de Soria, contained an old three-storey house with thick stone walls and timber floors and roof, in an advanced state of decay. It also occupied the least favourable spot on the plot: squeezed between buildings that blocked the sun, with little connection to the garden and no views.

The goals were clear: a home for a couple and their two children, with private, bright secondary bedrooms; placing the house on the best spot of the plot; resolving the level difference between street and garden to improve access; and achieving very high energy efficiency, using the Passivhaus standard as a benchmark.

The new home stands apart from the old building and moves to the sunniest part of the plot. Between the two, a courtyard allows the lower rooms to avoid opening onto the narrow street, protecting their privacy. This courtyard, with a large wall that catches the southern light, is well lit even though it sits below the level of the garden.

The brief is organised on two levels: a main part at garden level with views, and a secondary part accessed from the street, with the children’s bedrooms.

In section, the roof breaks into a saw-tooth profile so that sunlight reaches the deepest parts of the house directly. The roof structure is timber, traditional in the area, and three-layer timber panels give the interior light a warm quality. The walls are solid brick, the floors beige porcelain tile, the walls white-painted plaster and the high-performance windows black.