vernacular stone cabin in northern spain gains a renewed layered inner envelope

Casa Mínima’s Layered Interior Preserves Vernacular Architecture

In the heart of the Pasiego Valleys in Cantabria, Casa Mínima redefines what it means to inhabit an existing structure. What was once a ruined rural cabin has been carefully rehabilitated by Estudio Mínima into an EnerPHit-certified dwelling, demonstrating that the highest standards of energy efficiency can be achieved without altering the identity of vernacular architecture. The intervention preserves the original volume, the thick dry-stone masonry walls, the pitched roof, and the traditional external stone staircase, concentrating all transformation within the interior.

A new high-performance inner envelope is constructed as a layered second skin, with organic insulation, brick, and lime plaster, applied against the existing 80 cm stone walls. This strategy dramatically improves thermal performance while maintaining the building’s exterior presence and material authenticity. The energy system is completed with mechanical ventilation with heat recovery and an integrated heat pump, ensuring constant air quality and minimal energy consumption throughout the year. A small wood stove provides occasional supplementary heating during colder periods, while triple-glazed timber windows maintain visual continuity with the landscape and reduce heat loss. All technical systems are fully integrated and concealed, allowing the spatial experience to remain defined by silence, stability, and material clarity.

the exterior preserves the traditional dual entrance: stable below, living quarters above | all images by Erlantz Biderbost and ElPájaroDelPas

Lime, Oak, and Reclaimed Stone Shape Casa Mínima’s Interior Space

Material choices reinforce the logic of continuity and proximity: lime plaster, local oak wood, reclaimed stone, and ceramic elements define a restrained palette that connects the intervention to its context. Rather than imitating the existing structure, the project by Spanish practice Estudio Mínima distinguishes each layer with precision, allowing both the old and the new to be read simultaneously. Originally, the ground floor functioned as a stable. Today, it becomes the main living space of the house, where kitchen, dining, and living areas unfold as a continuous interior landscape oriented towards the surrounding valley.

Outside, the former service courtyard, once overgrown and abandoned, is recovered and paved with the original stone slabs that once formed the floor of the stable, including traces of their agricultural past. This space now extends the interior life of the house into the landscape. On the upper level, the traditional logic of Pasiego cabins is preserved, with two bedrooms accessed directly from the exterior via the original stone staircase. Clad in oak and finished in lime, these rooms offer a calm and contained atmosphere where proportion, texture, and light define the experience of rest. Casa Mínima is ultimately a reflection on permanence: an approach to architecture where sustainability is not only efficiency, but also care for what already exists, its memory, its matter, and its relationship with the landscape over time.

from the courtyard, a new opening connects to the living space, inserted into the dry-stone facade

generous openings cut through the dry-stone walls, framing the landscape and bringing light inside

the open living room highlights the contrast between the dry-stone exterior and the soft lime-plastered interior

the living room window features a built-in wooden ledge forming a place to sit and observe the view

reclaimed stone slabs from the former stable ground the space in memory and material continuity

large oak-framed windows open the living room to the surrounding landscape

the living space extends towards the kitchen, shaped by natural materials and lime-washed walls

the wood stove provides heating in the passive house, where high thermal performance reduces energy demand

bedrooms open towards the landscape, defined by natural materials, local oak flooring, and lime plaster walls

custom-made oak kitchen crafted by a local carpenter combines natural materials and neutral tones

entrance area with a custom oak coat rack crafted by a local carpenter leads to the home’s interior

project info:

name: Casa Mínima

architect: Estudio Mínima | @minima.bio

lead architects: Helena Aguilar, Juan Ramón Cristóbal
location: Cantabria, Spain

photographers: Erlantz Biderbost | @biderbost_photo, ElPájaroDelPas | @pajarodelpas

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edited by: christina vergopoulou | designboom