Completed in 1952, Casa Ugalde is one of the earliest and most influential residential works by José Antonio Coderch, designed in collaboration with Manuel Valls. Located on a rugged cliffside in Caldes d’Estrac, north of Barcelona, the house was commissioned by Ricardo Ugalde as a summer residence. The commission called for a dwelling that responded to the Mediterranean context while providing privacy, comfort, and an unobstructed relationship with the sea.
Casa Ugalde Technical Information
- Architects1-2: José Antonio Coderch + Manuel Valls
- Location: Caldes d’Estrac, Barcelona, Spain
- Gross Area: 273 m2 | 2,938 Sq. Ft.
- Project Years: 1951 – 1952
- Photographs: © Jose Hevia, © Francesc Català Roca, © Lluís Casals
You cannot design a house in a place without having walked it many times, without having looked at it, without having felt it.
– José Antonio Coderch5
Casa Ugalde Photographs
Site and Spatial Strategy
A search marked the post-war Spanish architectural landscape for identity, one that distanced itself from the stylistic rigidity of both the Franco regime and international modernism. Coderch, though trained in the rationalist tradition, seized this opportunity to propose an alternative approach; one that integrated modern principles with vernacular knowledge. Casa Ugalde exemplifies this attitude, offering a measured, highly contextual solution that balances formal restraint with spatial richness.
Coderch and Valls’ intervention demonstrates a profound sensitivity to the steep terrain. Rather than modifying the site to accommodate the architecture, the design embraces the existing topography. The house unfolds across multiple levels, each one staggered and responding to the natural slope. This terraced strategy not only minimized excavation but also allowed the building to merge into the landscape. It is said that not a single tree was felled during construction; a gesture that underscores the architects’ commitment to working with the site rather than against it.
Access is deliberately understated. The entrance is placed at the highest point of the plot, leading the visitor on a gradual descent through a carefully choreographed sequence of spaces. Circulation is both linear and fluid, blurring distinctions between interior and exterior. The central living areas orient toward the sea, capitalizing on views while remaining sheltered from prevailing winds. Private rooms are tucked into the hillside, creating a sense of seclusion without sacrificing natural light or ventilation.
This organizational logic is not imposed but discovered through careful observation of the site’s conditions. The plan is intuitive, almost geological, revealing itself in layers and thresholds. Interior spaces vary in ceiling height and proportion, responding to both topography and function, and always reinforcing a close relationship with the landscape.
Materiality and Construction Logic
The house’s material palette draws from the surrounding region, but its application avoids nostalgic replication. Instead, Coderch reinterprets vernacular forms with clarity and purpose. Whitewashed masonry walls, terracotta roof tiles, and timber elements recall local building traditions while being deployed in a way that reveals modern sensibilities.
The thick walls provide thermal inertia, moderating internal temperatures during hot summers and cool winters. Deep-set windows and shaded loggias offer protection from harsh sunlight, framing views while encouraging passive environmental control. This climatic responsiveness is not ancillary but central to the architectural intent.
Craftsmanship is evident throughout. The house is not monumental in its scale or detailing, but its tectonic logic is rigorous. Load-bearing walls express structural function, while spatial thresholds, arched openings, narrow corridors, and intimate patios create moments of compression and release. These architectural decisions are deeply tactile, fostering a domestic atmosphere rooted in slowness and precision.
Casa Ugalde Architectural Relevance
Casa Ugalde is more than a regionalist dwelling; it is a manifesto of measured modernism. While Coderch was often grouped with the International Style in early exhibitions, this project reveals his skepticism of abstract universalism. In its place, he championed a critical engagement with place, tradition, and human experience.
The house prefigures many of the concerns that would later be articulated by architects like Álvaro Siza or Peter Zumthor: a commitment to atmosphere, a respect for the vernacular without imitation, and an insistence on architecture as a situated practice. It also contributes to a lineage of Mediterranean architecture that operates between the poles of rationalism and sensuality.
In Coderch’s own words, “We are not moderns. We are of today.” Casa Ugalde embodies that sentiment, not as a rejection of modernity, but as a reframing of it through the lens of lived context. The house continues to be studied not only for its spatial intelligence but for its ethical stance: a refusal to dominate nature, and a belief in architecture as a quiet, enduring presence.
Casa Ugalde Plans
Casa Ugalde Image Gallery
About José Antonio Coderch
José Antonio Coderch (1913–1984) was a Catalan architect and a key figure in post-war Spanish architecture, known for blending modernist principles with deep respect for local traditions and context. His work, characterized by spatial rigor, material honesty, and sensitivity to place, challenged the rigidity of the International Style. Through projects like Casa Ugalde, Coderch advanced a Mediterranean modernism rooted in lived experience, making him a foundational voice in the critical regionalism movement.
Credits and Additional Notes
- Client: Ricardo Ugalde
- Site Area: Approx. 3,000 m² (32,292 ft²)
- Rovira, Josep M. Coderch. Edicions UPC.
- Coderch, J.A. Obras y Proyectos. Editorial Blume.
- Scully, Vincent. Modern Architecture and the Mediterranean. Yale University Press.
- Frampton, Kenneth. Studies in Tectonic Culture. MIT Press.
- Curtis, William J.R. Modern Architecture Since 1900. Phaidon Press.
