A wide house on a very narrow lot

When the family first showed the people at Vallribera Noray Arquitectes the plot where their new home was to be built, they expressed a rather inevitable doubt. "Is it really possible to fit a house here?" they asked. The plot, only 3.8 meters wide (and 40 meters long) and sandwiched between two party walls of very tall neighboring buildings, seemed more of a challenge than a future option. But the orientation was good, there was also light, a generous patio, and, above all, the will to imagine and build a different lifestyle.

The answer to their initial doubts is a single-family house between party walls in Sabadell that has managed to turn difficulty into a virtue. The key strategy of the team led by architects Llorenç Vallribera and Aleix Gil Noray was to create a void at the very heart of the house. Thus, instead of building a compact volume, they generated a large vertical space crowned by a skylight. This operation, among other strategic decisions, allows natural light to flow generously through all floors and provides cross ventilation, giving a breather to a space that, due to its very configuration, could have seemed dark and oppressive.

Daily life is distributed around this central space, which gives the impression of an interior courtyard. On one side, the kitchen, dining room, living room, and study, in an open-plan space with direct access to the backyard; on the other, the game room, bathrooms, and other services. The bedrooms have been set aside on the exterior facades, but creating buffer spaces that give them peace and privacy. The terraces and open spaces have been conceived primarily as galleries, with exposed brick walls and brick paving that invite plants to fill them, blurring the boundaries between interior and exterior.

The use of half-story buildings

There's another resource the architects have used to gain space, and above all, a sense of space, thanks to the powerful visuals they achieved. The wooden staircase that climbs through the large vertical opening to the bedrooms and study rises one floor on the first flight (leading to the couple's bedroom), but from this level on, the floors are only half-floors, on either side of the opening. It stops at one of the sons' studios, from which his bedroom is accessed, while the one above leads to the other son's bedroom, each with its own bathroom.

The house combines traditional and innovative construction techniques. The solid wood ceilings, mounted with tongue-and-groove beams, bring warmth to the rooms and also offer the advantage of being quick to build. The load-bearing walls are made of brick, which in certain spaces, such as those in direct contact with the exterior, are left exposed. This creates a striking dialogue between warm and hard materials.

Beyond the most visible architectural features, this home is also an exercise in sustainability. The project follows passive construction criteria. In winter, the south-facing openings and the skylight capture the sun's light and heat, which the ceramic walls and floors store for release at night. In summer, the eaves and adjustable shutters prevent excessive sunlight and enhance natural ventilation. With good insulation and the use of photovoltaic panels, the family has eliminated the need for conventional heating and cooling systems.

With 175 m^² Of surface area, that house that seemed impossible is now a bright, spacious, and efficient home. The initial doubts are behind us: where it seemed only a long, dark hallway would fit, there is now a home that breathes, that opens to the light, and transforms a family's will into architecture.