The Hellscraper (originally RascaInfiernos in Spanish) is a visionary underground residence designed by Spanish architect Fernando Higueras in 1972. Located seven meters below ground in Madrid, this remarkable home was his residence and studio. Today, it is preserved by the Fernando Higueras Foundation, which maintains the space almost exactly as the architect left it—serving as a living archive of his life and work.
Hellscraper by Fernando Higueras Technical Information
- Architects: Fernando Higueras
- Location: Madrid, Spain
- Typology: Residential Projects /Private Residences
- Evocative Topics: Cave
- Project Year: 1972
- Photographs: © Fernando Higueras Foundation, © Leonor Martin
This idea saved my life thirty-odd years ago, when my friend Francisco Nieva read my tarot and the death appeared 4 times in a row in the cards. He saw me buried underground with a cypress above me in only three years.
I insisted that this did not necessarily mean I would die. It then occurred to me the first hellscraper. I planted a cypress, which is now 18 meters high, and I’m still here…alive
– Fernando Higueras (Project Anecdote)
Hellscraper or the Cave house Images
Subterranean Living: Architecture in Dialogue with the Earth
Higueras was fascinated with underground architecture and frequently explored it in his more radical, unbuilt proposals—most notably The City of Seagulls in Lanzarote. His close friend César Manrique, also influenced by these ideas, would go on to build his famous volcanic home in Teguise beneath the lava of Lanzarote.
When Higueras purchased the plot in Madrid in 1972, he didn’t merely renovate the existing house. He excavated a 9 x 9 x 7 meter cube in the garden and a 2 x 2 x 7 meter vertical shaft for a spiral staircase. He gave birth to a fully habitable second basement—his cave of solitude and creation.
A Home Like No Other: Environmental and Spatial Qualities
Despite its subterranean nature, the Hellscraper is a triumph of light and spatial clarity. Large skylights bring natural daylight into the depths, illuminating the studio and living spaces without the oppressive feeling often associated with underground environments.
The structure maintains a consistent, comfortable thermal environment thanks to the insulating qualities of the earth, making it energy efficient and climatically stable throughout the year—an early, intuitive exploration of bioclimatic design.
Legacy and Preservation: Fernando Higueras Foundation
After Higueras died in 2008, the home was turned into the headquarters of the Fernando Higueras Foundation, which actively works to document and share his vast architectural legacy. The foundation has preserved the house exactly as it was during his life, offering a rare window into the mind and methods of one of Spain’s most visionary architects.
The Hellscraper remains one of Spain’s most poetic and radical dwellings. More than a home, it is a philosophical statement—questioning conventions, merging myth with architecture, and offering a sustainable, introspective living model. Higueras dug into the earth not to hide but to reveal a deeper, quieter form of architectural truth.
Hellscraper House Plans
Hellscraper House Gallery
Hellscraper House Video by Yorokobu
Video Source: Yorokobu
About Fernando Higueras
Fernando Higueras (1930–2008) was a visionary Spanish architect known for his bold, organic, and often unconventional approach to design. He blended brutalist structures with a deep respect for nature and vernacular forms. His work, including experimental projects like the Hellscraper and Las Cigarreras, reflected his fascination with underground spaces, sustainability, and emotional resonance in architecture. Higueras left a lasting legacy as one of Spain’s most original architectural minds of the 20th century.
Additional Notes and Credits
Yorokobu. Hellscraper: La Casa Cueva de Fernando Higueras. Video and article.
Martín, Leonor. Photographic Documentation of the Hellscraper, 2020.
González, Eva Luisa. Fernando Higueras: Desde el Refugio Subterráneo. El País, 2017.
Sáenz Guerra, Luis. Fernando Higueras: El Arquitecto que Excavó su Propio Mundo. Arquitectura Viva, Issue 172, 2015.
Higueras, Fernando. Reflexiones sobre la Arquitectura y la Vida, personal notes and interviews, Fundación Fernando Higueras Archives.
