fran silvestre's santa pola house overlooks the mediterranean sea from a spanish island

fran silvestre arquitectos has completed ‘house in santa pola’, a two-storey dwelling on the small spanish island of tabarca. responding to its coastal location, the property is elevated on a basement level, clad with grey stone, to offer direct views of the mediterranean sea. photographed here by fernando guerra, the remainder of the dwelling is rendered white — the same color as the more traditional dwellings that neighbor the site.

all images © fernando guerra

fran silvestre arquitectos located the house’s primary living accommodation on the ground floor, where the open plan kitchen, dining area, and lounge spill out onto an external terrace. this expansive patio, which is partially covered, also features a swimming pool and outdoor showers. the home’s upper level contains three bedrooms, including a master suite with its own dressing room and bathroom.

from the street, the house appears as a private and almost monolithic structure, with all views and openings taking advantage of the sea views at the rear of the property. ‘in order to protect itself from the surrounding architectures, the volume of the building is designed to be as opaque as possible to the exterior and simultaneously as open to the landscape as possible,’ explain the architects.

project info:

name: casa en santa pola / santa pola house
location: santa pola, tabarca, spain
plot area: 996 sqm
gross area: 525,48 sqm
architecture: fran silvestre arquitectos
project team: fran silvestre, principal in charge; maría masià, principal in charge
collaborating architects: estefanía soriano, sevak asatrián, david sastre, fran ayala, pablo camarasa, sandra insa, ricardo candela, rubén march, jose manuel arnao, rosa juanes, gemma aparicio, juan martinez, paz garcia-españa, daniel uribe, javier briones, ángel pérez, daniel yacopino (MArch master), juan fernández, javi hinojosa (MArch master), pau ricós, andrea baldo, blanca larraz, esther sanchis
financial management: ana de pablo, elena gómez
marketing and communication: sara atienza
interior design: alfaro hofmann
construction company: construcciones francés
structure: estructuras singulares. universitat politécnica de valencia
structural engineer: vicente ramos. estudio uno
photography: FG + SG. ultimas reportagens. fernando guerra