Casa Garoza

A Next-Generation Cabin in the Woods

Inserted into a rock-studded meadow adjoining the Fundación Ibarrola in an unexpectedly remote Spanish locale, this next-generation, workshop-created prototype home shines out from the rugged landscape as an urban-styled shed structure with an outsized observation deck. 

A contemplative contemporary cabin, the modular structure was designed for rest, respite and rejuvenation, with a focus on reconnecting with the natural world. A winner of multiple awards for innovation and design, the concept home showcases how comfort and sustainability can combine in an urban refuge relocated to the countryside.

Created in a workshop and transported to its rock-studded meadow location, this contemporary take on the getaway in the woods feels more urban loft than classic natural refuge. The industrially inspired, shed-like home, with its expansive deck twice the size of the residence, was conceived to be a cabin of our time, a place where comfort and sustainability go hand in hand, and nature spreads out wildly in every direction.

Designed by prestigious Spanish architect Juan Herreros, Casa Garoza was a Spanish Architecture and Urbanism Biennial finalist, a nominee for the FAD Awards and the Mies Van der Rohe Awards for Contemporary European Architecture, winner of the Construmat Award for Technological Innovation in 2011, and recipient of an AR House Award in 2012. 

Conceived as a modular structure, the vacation home for rent in Spain is a product of urban culture, conceived as a city home conveniently moved to the countryside, which differentiates it from the standard country escape or refuge, created expressly to meld with nature.

Metallic legs elevate the corrugated-metal-clad home over the landscape—a field of boulders and tree-dotted turf. The suspended design was intentionally created to convey a conceptual lightness and to require minimal on-site construction. In fact, the box structure was assembled on site in a single day. Interior walls, storage, and many fixed furnishings were incorporated into the cabin’s walls to allow for remote construction as well as make future growth to the modular structure far easier than traditional construction. An oversized terrace doubles the size of the built space, extending from the structure’s lower level out into the landscape. The generous deck creates expansive views, gives a sense of architectural lightness, and integrates the structure into the wild, rocky space.

The cabin’s interior is spare and industrial, a space where hard surfaces dominate, and built-in furnishings are accented by minimal added furniture. Décor is nonexistent, with nature serving as the home’s ornamentation. Walls are made of eco conglomerate wood resembling plywood with ample glass windows and sliding doors flooding the space with natural light. Bedrooms (one double and one couch-styled room ideal for children) are located on an upper level reminiscent of the lofts of traditional hay barns, accessible via a suspended walkway over the living, dining and kitchen zone below. Lighting and fixtures are practical and minimal, and the cabin is warmed by a wood-burning stove.

AROUND

This vacation home for rent in Spain was designed to fit into its private lot in Muñogalindo, a wild, rugged landscape outside of the Spanish city of Ávila. The home is set next to the Fundacion Ibarrola, the institution created in celebration of the Basque painter and sculptor Agustín Ibarrola Goicoechea, who, with his wife Mari Luz, transformed this wild region of holm oaks and boulders into an inspirational and spiritual space for the creation of his contemporary art. The Fondacion is open for visits by appointment and features over 100 of the artist’s works. 

The old town of the city of Ávila is a UNESCO World Heritage Conservation zone, famed for its fairytale fortifications and as the birthplace of St. Teresa, the town’s legendary saint. The medieval city was founded in the 11th century to defend Spain from the invading Moors, and the huge, austere fortifications still dominate the horizon, featuring 82 towers and nine gates. They are Spain’s most well-preserved fortifications and a tourist hotspot. The city of Ávila is perched above the Adaja River, and several monasteries where St. Teresa lived and work are popular attractions located outside the city walls. The pilgrimage routes of the Camino Santiago de Compostella and the Ruta Teresiana pass through the city, and the walk around Ávila’s crenelated walls is, of course, equally well-traveled.

LOCATION

Muñogalindo, Ávila, Spain. Nearest airport: Madrid

BEST TIME TO VISIT: April to October