Villa CP, a villa rental by Zest Architecture in Gavarres, Catalonia

A 17th-Century Catalan Farmhouse, Rebuilt by Zest Architecture in Corten, Cork and Clay

On a hilltop in the Gavarres—a protected national park between Girona and the Costa Brava—a 17th-century Catalan farmhouse has been taken apart and put back together by Barcelona-based Zest Architecture. Heritage law dictated that the stone exterior could not change. The architects treated it as a brief. Behind that ancient facade, they inserted a new Corten steel structure, lined the walls with clay plaster, insulated with cork harvested from the surrounding forest, and installed geothermal climate control and a reed-bed water filtration system.

Host Guy and his architect wife Co—who designed the home's celebrated raindrop doors—run the property with formidable attention to detail. The project was presented at the Venice Architecture Biennale in 2014 and has since appeared in Wallpaper*, Dezeen, and Dwell. Five bedrooms, four bathrooms, a natural pool, and 60 acres of private land. Girona is 30 minutes away, Barcelona an hour south.

The upper floor (kitchen, dining, and living room) faces south and opens onto the terrace and pool through full-width bi-fold doors. A hydraulic Corten shutter provides shade in summer. In winter, it lifts to let the sun in. Walls are finished in Claytec clay plaster, worked smooth with a cloudy, uneven coloring that reads differently at every hour. Floors throughout are polished concrete mixed with oxide and finished in beeswax. A Coco-Mat Emperor bed (two meters wide) anchors the master suite, and all other rooms have latex mattresses with hypoallergenic linens. The library and double-height entrance hall link the two floors, giving the house a spatial transparency that photographs cannot quite convey.

The natural pool is filtered by plants and gravel. The upper terrace has a shaded dining area and a charcoal barbecue. Elsewhere in the grounds are hammocks, a trampoline, table tennis, and foosball. The standout detail is the outdoor wet room, a roofless enclosure lit by a perforated Corten door, its droplet-shaped piercings casting light in patterns borrowed from condensation on glass. Designed by Co Govers, it is private from outside, open to the sky.

Layout

This property in sleeps up to 10 guests, with eight in the main house and an additional two guests in the annex. Rates shown are for the main house only. The annex is available at additional cost.

Five bedrooms occupy the lower level, partially sunk into the hillside, keeping them cool by design. Bedrooms: one king room (master, Coco-Mat Emperor bed), three queen rooms, and one room with two single beds. Four bathrooms, all finished in Bisazza tiles.

The annex, which is private and separate from the main house, adds one further bedroom with a futon, sleeping two.

What we love

There is a moment, standing on the upper terrace at Villa CP, when the valley does something to you. Only one other house is visible in the valley below. Birds. The quiet sound of water moving in the pool. It is the kind of stillness that takes about four minutes to arrive—and then doesn't leave for the rest of the week.

Experiences

Four mountain bikes are available on-site. The surrounding Gavarres national park offers hundreds of kilometres of marked hiking and cycling trails directly from the property.

Good to know

Geothermal climate control and underfloor heating keep the lower-level bedrooms cool through August and warm through winter. AC is available throughout the rest of the house. The property has disabled access to most areas of the house and gardens. The natural pool is not gated, and families with young children should be aware of the open water and surrounding wildlife. A toddler bed and two cribs are available. Wi-Fi is available throughout.

Amenities & services

Geothermal climate control, underfloor heating, air conditioning, two fully equipped kitchens, dishwasher, washer, dryer, natural plant-filtered pool, outdoor barbecue and dining area, piano, trampoline, table tennis, table football, four mountain bikes, board games, chess, stereo system, TV with DVD collection, disabled access to most areas, property-wide security system, toddler bed, two cribs, hammocks, outdoor wet room, Bisazza-tiled bathrooms, Coco-Mat Emperor bed, hypoallergenic linens and duvets, wi-fi

Around

The closest point of reference is Girona, 30 minutes south, a medieval city that repays the drive in almost any direction you point yourself. Walk the Barri Vell walls before 9am and the cathedral is yours. The Roca brothers' three-Michelin-star El Celler de Can Roca is here too (book the lunch service for the garden). Forty minutes west, Les Cols in Olot is Fina Puigdevall's two-Michelin-star restaurant inside a 13th-century farmhouse redesigned by Pritzker Prize-winning RCR Arquitectes (the volcanic-terroir tasting menu is built around what's growing nearby). The medieval village of Peratallada is 10 minutes away, resistant to every urge to become a tourist attraction and with a market on Sundays. Costa Brava beaches are under 30 minutes. Puig d'Arques (Catalonia's highest Gavarres peak) is a two-hour walk from the estate gate.

A car is essential.