House X challenges conventional notions of contextual integration by asserting its presence in the rugged landscape of the Serranía de Cuenca. Rather than aiming for a delicate, reversible footprint, it embraces a paradoxical approach: its form is invasive, yet its material strategy is one of deep assimilation. Unlike contemporary projects prioritizing ephemeral sustainability, House X advocates for permanence as a more responsible architectural response.
House X Technical Information
- Architects1-6: Bojaus
- Location: Serranía de Cuenca, Valdemorillo, Spain
- Groos Area: 190 m2 | 2,045 Sq. Ft.
- Project Year: 2022 – 2024
- Photographs: © Luis Asín
House X does not seek to disappear into the landscape but to become an inseparable part of it—an architecture of permanence rather than ephemerality.
– Bojaus Architects
House X Photographs
Spatial Organization and Architectural Language
The project draws from historical precedents, particularly the fortified structures of the Castilian plateau and the monolithic stone dwellings of Monsanto, Portugal. These references are not superficial but guide the house’s articulation of mass, texture, and endurance. The design’s engagement with the site extends beyond visual mimicry, opting for an aggressive yet symbiotic relationship with its surroundings.
House X employs fragmentation as a spatial strategy, using its X-shaped plan to establish a series of dynamic interactions between solid and void, shelter and exposure. The four wings of the house extend outward from a central nexus, each oriented toward a specific natural feature. This layout ensures a multiplicity of perspectives, emphasizing the changing qualities of the landscape throughout the day.
The project’s sectional complexity reinforces its architectural intent. Heavy concrete walls form deep recesses that control light penetration, creating moments of contrast between the structure’s solid mass and the ephemeral qualities of natural illumination. Interior spaces are defined by their relationship to framed openings, emphasizing a dialogue between enclosure and outward extension.
A clear influence can be traced to the Ugalde House by José Antonio Coderch, particularly in its approach to organizing space in relation to the site. Like Coderch’s work, House X does not treat architecture as an isolated object but rather as a device that mediates between inhabitant and landscape. The way spaces unfold—visually and experientially—underscores an architectural philosophy that prioritizes spatial richness over formal spectacle.
House X Materiality and Construction Process
Materiality is central to House X’s identity. Constructed entirely from on-site concrete with local aggregates, the house asserts a tectonic connection to its environment. The 50 cm thick walls, hand-formed in 60 cm high layers, incorporate insulation between the inner and outer concrete layers, ensuring structural robustness and thermal performance. This process results in a distinctive surface texture where large embedded stones remain visible, reinforcing the material dialogue between the house and its geological surroundings.
The interior material palette maintains this focus on tactile contrast. Exposed concrete ceilings and walls are softened by the integration of oak flooring and walnut cabinetry, offering a counterpoint to the otherwise austere composition. The careful juxtaposition of raw and refined materials heightens the sensory experience of the space, encouraging an engagement with texture and temperature.
The house’s longevity is embedded in its construction methodology. In contrast to architectural trends that emphasize lightness and reversibility, House X makes a case for durability as a form of sustainability. By employing materials and techniques that promote extended lifespans, the project critiques the disposability inherent in much contemporary sustainable discourse. Rather than focusing on rapid assembly and eventual disassembly, it proposes an alternative paradigm—one in which architecture is built to endure, evolving with its environment rather than yielding to it.
Broader Architectural and Cultural Implications
House X raises critical questions about architecture’s role in shaping its context. Its refusal to dissolve into the landscape challenges the prevailing ethos of passive environmental integration, suggesting instead that architecture can exist in a state of productive tension with its surroundings. This approach disrupts the assumption that sustainability must be equated with impermanence, arguing instead for an architecture of lasting material and spatial integrity.
The project’s stance on sustainability is particularly noteworthy. It critiques the industry’s tendency to prioritize symbolic gestures over substantive material strategies. In an era where sustainability is often reduced to technological solutions or superficial ecological aesthetics, House X proposes a different trajectory that values endurance, resource efficiency, and site-specific adaptation as the foundations of sustainable design.
Furthermore, House X can be seen as a contemporary reinterpretation of Brutalism. Its unapologetic use of concrete, emphasis on mass and texture, and resistance to transience position it within a lineage of architecture that prioritizes raw materiality and structural honesty. However, unlike the monumental Brutalist projects of the 20th century, House X refines this language through a more nuanced understanding of context, craft, and environmental responsiveness.
House X Plans
House X Image Gallery
About Bojaus Arquitectura
Bojaus Arquitectura is a Madrid-based architecture studio founded in 2012 by Ignacio Senra and Elisa Sequeros. The firm is dedicated to designing high-quality, contextually responsive architecture that balances innovation with everyday functionality. With a strong focus on sustainability, material authenticity, and spatial clarity, Bojaus Arquitectura integrates research and practice to create enduring, site-sensitive projects that engage deeply with their surroundings.
Credits and Additional Notes
- Lead Architects: Ignacio Senra, Elisa Sequeros
Design Team: Jorge Gabaldón, Javier Luque
Engineering: Bernabeu Ingenieros
Building Surveyor & Project Manager: Ignacio Buzzanca Casasús
Gross Floor Area: 190 m²
Plot Size: 2000 m²
