In Las Torres de Cotillas, a residential zone on the periphery of Murcia, Especie Arquitectura has executed a project that is as much an ecological healing process as it is a home extension. The architects, Joaquín García Vicente and Tatiana Poggi, were tasked with transforming an existing suburban dwelling—the Casa PB16—which suffered from a critical flaw: a lack of engagement with its expansive garden due to a steep, defining change in elevation.
The core of the client’s brief demanded more than just a stairwell. They required a fully integrated, therapeutic experience, specifically a heated indoor pool for both well-being and leisure, alongside a detached, flexible outdoor office designed to accommodate guests. These additions necessitated a significant site renovation, challenging the design team to reconcile extensive building with environmental sensitivity.
The plot’s most significant feature is a natural ravine that cuts along its length. Rather than attempting to suppress this geological reality, Especie Arquitectura used it as the project’s defining constraint. The architectural strategy was not one of construction but of accommodation, resulting in an ‘architectural prosthesis’—a collection of small, dispersed volumes or ‘capsules’ that land lightly on the topography. This approach deliberately minimises ground disturbance.
This delicate intervention allows the new structures to hover just above the garden, protecting them from the ravine’s potential runoff while preserving the natural soil’s permeability. Crucially, the design maintains the pre-existing natural drainage and water flow, actively facilitating the continuation of the area’s natural ecosystem. Over the three years of the construction timeline, this philosophy has fostered a thriving natural oasis that peacefully coexists with the new sustainable architecture.
The physical expression of the extension is deliberately varied. The capsules employ a rich material palette to control light and views: some are completely transparent, blurring the line between inside and out; others are translucent, providing diffused light and privacy; and some are solid, defining the functional core. This thoughtful modulation of form ensures that the garden extension is experienced dynamically from within.
Inside the original structure, the site renovation focused on enhancing the private domain. The existing bedroom area was reconfigured to connect directly to the warmth of the new indoor pool via sliding glass doors—a spatial luxury that fulfils the client’s vision. New ancillary spaces, including a redesigned dressing room, laundry facilities, and a dedicated bathroom, complete the refresh, culminating in a shower unit deliberately positioned to offer an unbroken, meditative view over the extended landscape. The project ultimately redefines the suburban domestic space through an enlightened engagement with nature.