1
00:00:02,000 --> 00:00:04,084
I think it's time, Caroline, to go
and see how the other half live.

2
00:00:04,084 --> 00:00:06,060
Talk about welcome to my humble
abode.

3
00:00:06,060 --> 00:00:09,060
Cor, that is a whole lot of house.

4
00:00:11,080 --> 00:00:15,048
He's Piers Taylor,
an award-winning architect.

5
00:00:15,048 --> 00:00:19,056
I mean, the depth of this wall,
it's four-foot thick.

6
00:00:19,056 --> 00:00:21,004
After you, my lord.

7
00:00:21,004 --> 00:00:23,028
And she's Caroline Quentin,

8
00:00:23,028 --> 00:00:26,064
acclaimed actress and passionate
property developer.

9
00:00:26,064 --> 00:00:32,040
This house has the perfect ratio
of bedrooms to swimming pools.

10
00:00:32,040 --> 00:00:34,024
We've been given the keys to some

11
00:00:34,024 --> 00:00:36,076
of the most incredible houses
in the world.

12
00:00:36,076 --> 00:00:40,044
If we were left alone here for any
amount of time, I have a feeling...

13
00:00:40,044 --> 00:00:42,072
We would ruin this house.

14
00:00:42,072 --> 00:00:45,056
To discover the design innovation,
passion,

15
00:00:45,056 --> 00:00:49,048
and endurance needed to transform
architectural vision

16
00:00:49,048 --> 00:00:51,048
into an extraordinary home.

17
00:00:51,048 --> 00:00:53,064
Look! I'm dumbstruck!

18
00:00:53,064 --> 00:00:56,036
We're travelling the globe.

19
00:00:57,080 --> 00:01:01,028
Meeting architects and owners to
explore how their daring homes

20
00:01:01,028 --> 00:01:05,068
respond uniquely to local
landscape, climate, and culture.

21
00:01:05,068 --> 00:01:09,000
I think this is probably the
greatest house I've ever been in.

22
00:01:09,000 --> 00:01:12,052
Whether it's battling the elements
to construct a dream home

23
00:01:12,052 --> 00:01:15,056
on dramatic Scandinavian terrain...

24
00:01:15,056 --> 00:01:18,060
The architect was nervous that
things would go wrong.

25
00:01:18,060 --> 00:01:20,044
He couldn't bear to look at it.

26
00:01:20,044 --> 00:01:24,016
Pushing the boundaries
of European experimentation...

27
00:01:24,016 --> 00:01:26,028
I think that's it!I think it is.

28
00:01:26,028 --> 00:01:31,016
When I looked at the proposal at the
beginning, I was almost shocked.

29
00:01:31,016 --> 00:01:34,072
Celebrating craftsmanship
and beauty in Asia...

30
00:01:34,072 --> 00:01:37,012
We've likened this house to dripping

31
00:01:37,012 --> 00:01:39,076
chocolate sauce
over vanilla ice cream.

32
00:01:39,076 --> 00:01:42,056
Or going all out for glamour
in America.

33
00:01:42,056 --> 00:01:47,016
You just do what you do best, and
that is to create a masterpiece.

34
00:01:47,016 --> 00:01:50,004
Piers! Is this too Miami?

35
00:01:58,072 --> 00:02:00,044
This time, we're in a country

36
00:02:00,044 --> 00:02:03,076
which has a rich tradition of
flamboyance in architecture -

37
00:02:03,076 --> 00:02:05,064
Spain.

38
00:02:05,064 --> 00:02:08,040
There's something
in the Spanish culture -

39
00:02:08,040 --> 00:02:12,004
that toreador in tight trousers
with glittery embroidery.

40
00:02:12,004 --> 00:02:14,024
I still feel it in the culture here.

41
00:02:14,024 --> 00:02:17,064
It's brave, it's...
Showmanship.Yeah.

42
00:02:17,064 --> 00:02:21,064
I mean, there's nothing quiet
about it. It's very strong.

43
00:02:21,064 --> 00:02:23,080
And you think of Gaudi, really.

44
00:02:23,080 --> 00:02:28,072
I mean, the most theatrical
way of making buildings, in a way.

45
00:02:28,072 --> 00:02:32,004
Yeah.The most exotic way.

46
00:02:32,004 --> 00:02:34,068
Daring again. Daring.
Mould-breaking.

47
00:02:34,068 --> 00:02:39,000
Gaudi threw down the gauntlet
for future architects.

48
00:02:39,000 --> 00:02:42,084
And it's this sense of adventure
that's brought us to Spain,

49
00:02:42,084 --> 00:02:45,040
where there's so much thrilling
architecture.

50
00:02:47,064 --> 00:02:51,084
The same spirit can be found
in residential properties too.

51
00:02:51,084 --> 00:02:54,092
So we're heading away from
the crowded coastlines

52
00:02:54,092 --> 00:02:57,096
and into Spain's dramatic interior.

53
00:03:00,004 --> 00:03:02,040
It's a land of experimentation.

54
00:03:02,040 --> 00:03:06,056
This is a building made out of what
looks like pieces of bridge.

55
00:03:06,056 --> 00:03:09,080
Where architects are
rewriting the rule book.

56
00:03:09,080 --> 00:03:12,028
This would be a normal front door,

57
00:03:12,028 --> 00:03:15,076
but it tells you the scale
of the building. It's so big.

58
00:03:16,096 --> 00:03:21,076
From high art homes to beautiful
spaces for practical living.

59
00:03:21,076 --> 00:03:24,052
You have a wonderful life here.
Salud.

60
00:03:24,052 --> 00:03:26,016
Salud.

61
00:03:26,016 --> 00:03:30,008
We'll uncover some extraordinary
homes that challenge and surprise.

62
00:03:31,048 --> 00:03:34,056
That's right. It feels sacred.

63
00:03:34,056 --> 00:03:36,048
It feels sacred, doesn't it?

64
00:03:40,016 --> 00:03:43,036
Our journey begins in the northeast
corner of Spain,

65
00:03:43,036 --> 00:03:45,036
in the foothills of the Pyrenees.

66
00:03:46,076 --> 00:03:49,072
For a thousand years,
religious travellers have passed

67
00:03:49,072 --> 00:03:54,096
through here on their way to the
holy city of Santiago de Compostela.

68
00:03:54,096 --> 00:03:57,052
But we're making a pilgrimage
of a different kind.

69
00:04:02,020 --> 00:04:05,076
The home we're visiting is totally
unlike the stone farmhouses

70
00:04:05,076 --> 00:04:07,088
found in this beautiful region.

71
00:04:09,008 --> 00:04:12,036
Designed by architects who have
recently won the Pritzker Prize,

72
00:04:12,036 --> 00:04:14,024
the Nobel Prize of architecture,

73
00:04:14,024 --> 00:04:18,016
this house has garnered an awful lot
of attention internationally,

74
00:04:18,016 --> 00:04:21,032
not least because it's made
entirely of rusted metal.

75
00:04:26,064 --> 00:04:31,096
I'm imagining for an architect that
the difficulty would be in building

76
00:04:31,096 --> 00:04:34,064
something that kind of reflects
the history,

77
00:04:34,064 --> 00:04:38,024
respects the history, but also
has a completely new take on it.

78
00:04:38,024 --> 00:04:40,012
Are you excited about seeing this
house?

79
00:04:40,012 --> 00:04:42,008
I'm very excited about seeing this
house.

80
00:04:42,008 --> 00:04:45,008
I'm making a pilgrimage to see
something really significant.

81
00:04:47,004 --> 00:04:49,020
There's a lovely, old,
traditional house.

82
00:04:49,020 --> 00:04:51,012
Isn't that really charming?

83
00:04:51,012 --> 00:04:54,072
Beautiful. And when a building is
part of a landscape...

84
00:04:54,072 --> 00:04:57,028
Piers, I think that's our building
there -

85
00:04:57,028 --> 00:04:59,032
that low-lying, little, tiny...

86
00:04:59,032 --> 00:05:02,012
It looks like little tin shacks.

87
00:05:02,012 --> 00:05:04,004
I think that's it.I think it is.

88
00:05:07,032 --> 00:05:08,072
Here we are.

89
00:05:11,036 --> 00:05:15,020
It cuts into the edge
of the hillside, doesn't it?

90
00:05:15,020 --> 00:05:18,076
But is it my imagination, Piers, or
is there something slightly comedic

91
00:05:18,076 --> 00:05:21,068
about it because it is just a row
of little boxes?

92
00:05:21,068 --> 00:05:23,092
It isn't just a row of little boxes.

93
00:05:23,092 --> 00:05:27,008
I mean, there may be more to it
than that.

94
00:05:27,008 --> 00:05:29,072
No, no, but it doesn't...

95
00:05:29,072 --> 00:05:31,056
It could be a load of containers
or lorries.

96
00:05:31,056 --> 00:05:34,020
Exactly.It could be someone's
parked some lorries up there.

97
00:05:34,020 --> 00:05:37,020
But that's what's so fantastic is
that making interesting architecture

98
00:05:37,020 --> 00:05:39,048
isn't about making interesting
shapes,

99
00:05:39,048 --> 00:05:41,076
and that's something that
this is telling us.

100
00:05:41,076 --> 00:05:43,012
That's fascinating.

101
00:05:43,012 --> 00:05:46,060
Cos I think a lot of people perceive
it as actually just a form,

102
00:05:46,060 --> 00:05:48,040
about form, but it's not about
form...

103
00:05:48,040 --> 00:05:49,092
Yeah, Frank Gehry and Bill Bauer

104
00:05:49,092 --> 00:05:51,064
making something that says,
"Look at me."

105
00:05:51,064 --> 00:05:53,032
This says - "Don't look at me."

106
00:05:53,032 --> 00:05:55,068
Yes, it does, except I am going
to look at it.

107
00:05:57,076 --> 00:06:01,052
This house is a really exceptional
piece of architecture

108
00:06:01,052 --> 00:06:03,000
by any standard.

109
00:06:13,028 --> 00:06:15,084
Built for a famous chef
and her family,

110
00:06:15,084 --> 00:06:19,064
this home is designed to appear like
a serious of agricultural buildings

111
00:06:19,064 --> 00:06:21,060
that merge with the landscape.

112
00:06:21,060 --> 00:06:24,084
Created by architects at the top
of their game,

113
00:06:24,084 --> 00:06:28,012
it redefines how
a domestic building can look.

114
00:06:28,012 --> 00:06:30,024
I'm fascinated by this house.

115
00:06:31,084 --> 00:06:36,072
This feels like the entrance
to an art gallery or a theatre.

116
00:06:36,072 --> 00:06:39,096
But it's also curiously like a bit
of a motorway underpass,

117
00:06:39,096 --> 00:06:42,056
and I mean that as a compliment.

118
00:06:42,056 --> 00:06:46,044
Because it's heroic and really
very un-front-door-like.

119
00:06:48,072 --> 00:06:51,012
I think this might be the way in.

120
00:06:53,064 --> 00:06:55,084
This is the front door
I was looking for.

121
00:06:55,084 --> 00:06:58,060
And what's great is that that is
front-door size.

122
00:06:58,060 --> 00:07:00,056
Actually, it's about front door
width,

123
00:07:00,056 --> 00:07:02,052
and this would be a normal front
door.

124
00:07:02,052 --> 00:07:04,076
But it tells you the scale of
the building.

125
00:07:04,076 --> 00:07:07,016
It's so big, it's so tall.
It's four times as tall

126
00:07:07,016 --> 00:07:08,036
as a normal front door.

127
00:07:09,084 --> 00:07:12,064
And there's yet another entrance
in here.

128
00:07:12,064 --> 00:07:15,000
Which has a veil-like quality to it,
doesn't it?

129
00:07:15,000 --> 00:07:17,048
Look at this, Piers. Look.

130
00:07:19,052 --> 00:07:21,096
Wow.Have you worked out what this
is?

131
00:07:23,016 --> 00:07:25,072
It's a lift.What's fantastic is
that it's absurd in many ways

132
00:07:25,072 --> 00:07:28,008
that there's a lift in a piece
of ground that's quite flat,

133
00:07:28,008 --> 00:07:31,020
cos you could just walk straight in,
but I love the theatre of it.

134
00:07:31,020 --> 00:07:33,004
This is really dramatic.

135
00:07:33,004 --> 00:07:34,068
And I hate lifts.

136
00:07:40,084 --> 00:07:43,096
A key challenge for the architects
was to build this four-bedroom

137
00:07:43,096 --> 00:07:46,000
home along the edge of an
escarpment.

138
00:07:47,008 --> 00:07:50,068
The underground entrance
was excavated and foundations cut

139
00:07:50,068 --> 00:07:53,068
into the ridge line along
a 60-metre plot.

140
00:07:54,076 --> 00:07:57,048
Designed to resemble agricultural
buildings,

141
00:07:57,048 --> 00:08:01,032
the house is made up of 11 specially
crafted steel boxes -

142
00:08:01,032 --> 00:08:03,056
all linked by a steel corridor.

143
00:08:03,056 --> 00:08:06,028
Cleverly hidden by a man-made
ridge,

144
00:08:06,028 --> 00:08:10,024
planted up to blend in
with the surrounding landscape.

145
00:08:10,024 --> 00:08:11,084
The master bedroom is at one end,

146
00:08:11,084 --> 00:08:13,080
with three further bedrooms at the
other.

147
00:08:13,080 --> 00:08:17,092
In between, there's a generous
amount of living space.

148
00:08:17,092 --> 00:08:20,076
The lift arrives into the centre
of the house.

149
00:08:22,068 --> 00:08:24,068
What's through here?

150
00:08:27,080 --> 00:08:30,016
It's almost disorientating.It is.

151
00:08:31,040 --> 00:08:33,008
It's such a dark entrance.

152
00:08:33,008 --> 00:08:36,064
I've never been in a house where you
enter completely in the dark.

153
00:08:36,064 --> 00:08:40,068
With nothing in it to give you
any sense of where you are.

154
00:08:40,068 --> 00:08:42,072
And then suddenly the light.

155
00:08:54,088 --> 00:08:57,008
SHE GASPS

156
00:09:00,024 --> 00:09:02,028
I'm speechless.

157
00:09:07,060 --> 00:09:09,024
You thrilled?

158
00:09:11,016 --> 00:09:16,016
I think I'm most thrilled by this
sense that there's a building that

159
00:09:16,016 --> 00:09:18,080
in many ways is a piece of high art,

160
00:09:18,080 --> 00:09:22,004
and yet it's only really
one or two steps

161
00:09:22,004 --> 00:09:25,028
away from a farmer's slurry pit.

162
00:09:25,028 --> 00:09:27,084
This is rooted in this landscape
in the best possible way.

163
00:09:27,084 --> 00:09:31,016
This isn't a house that's scared
of its context.

164
00:09:31,016 --> 00:09:33,096
This is more embedded in
its agricultural landscape

165
00:09:33,096 --> 00:09:36,044
than the agricultural buildings.

166
00:09:36,044 --> 00:09:39,064
You can almost see the cows coming
in to drink at this, can't you?

167
00:09:41,048 --> 00:09:46,036
Now I want to have a look at
practically how I would use it.

168
00:09:46,036 --> 00:09:48,072
I'm quite interested in that now
because I've walked into

169
00:09:48,072 --> 00:09:51,096
what feels quite abstract and I'd
love to find out

170
00:09:51,096 --> 00:09:55,028
about how it functions
as a house, I suppose.

171
00:10:00,064 --> 00:10:03,060
This house is truly minimalist.

172
00:10:05,084 --> 00:10:08,096
I'm really enjoying the simplicity
and silence.

173
00:10:10,088 --> 00:10:13,092
So I can take a good look
around in peace.

174
00:10:15,056 --> 00:10:18,072
The thing about houses like this is
they always look so immaculate,

175
00:10:18,072 --> 00:10:20,036
they are so minimalist.

176
00:10:20,036 --> 00:10:23,068
But like every family,
they've got clutter.

177
00:10:23,068 --> 00:10:25,028
I just have to find out where it is.

178
00:10:27,068 --> 00:10:30,000
HOLLOW ECHO

179
00:10:30,000 --> 00:10:34,012
Oh. Uh-huh.

180
00:10:37,096 --> 00:10:40,064
Oh! This is where they hide

181
00:10:40,064 --> 00:10:43,080
all those things that you and I see

182
00:10:43,080 --> 00:10:46,020
for the rest of our lives.

183
00:10:46,020 --> 00:10:47,092
All the time.

184
00:10:50,032 --> 00:10:51,064
Oh!

185
00:10:52,096 --> 00:10:54,084
Interesting.

186
00:10:54,084 --> 00:10:58,064
There are even entire rooms
behind doors.

187
00:11:03,020 --> 00:11:05,036
This house could have felt cold
and uninviting,

188
00:11:05,036 --> 00:11:09,024
but through their manipulation
of the play of light on steel,

189
00:11:09,024 --> 00:11:12,080
the architects have created
a warm and captivating atmosphere.

190
00:11:14,068 --> 00:11:18,032
It makes me wonder why more houses
aren't made completely from metal.

191
00:11:22,040 --> 00:11:25,096
And I wonder if I'll need a can
opener to find the television.

192
00:11:32,072 --> 00:11:34,044
There's nothing on.

193
00:11:38,072 --> 00:11:43,036
There's a steely determination
to hide life's functionality here.

194
00:11:43,036 --> 00:11:45,072
Although it's aesthetically
pleasing,

195
00:11:45,072 --> 00:11:48,068
I imagine it can be a challenge
to live with.

196
00:11:50,016 --> 00:11:54,016
Nowadays it seems that every house
has a room which has a specific

197
00:11:54,016 --> 00:11:57,064
function and you need to know what
every bit of it is for.

198
00:11:57,064 --> 00:12:02,000
But this house has more void,
more emptiness than actual room,

199
00:12:02,000 --> 00:12:04,060
and it's in these voids,
in this empty space,

200
00:12:04,060 --> 00:12:07,008
that for me this house comes alive.

201
00:12:08,036 --> 00:12:11,036
I'm completely blown away by it.

202
00:12:18,004 --> 00:12:20,056
Unfortunately, I've come
to the bedroom

203
00:12:20,056 --> 00:12:22,092
and there doesn't appear
to be a bed.

204
00:12:22,092 --> 00:12:24,040
Unless I'm missing something.

205
00:12:24,040 --> 00:12:28,060
And, like the rest of the house,
it's...

206
00:12:30,048 --> 00:12:33,076
It's hidden behind a panel.

207
00:12:33,076 --> 00:12:35,016
Hang on.

208
00:12:43,072 --> 00:12:45,068
Ingenious, these Spanish.

209
00:12:47,036 --> 00:12:49,072
Oh!
SHE LAUGHS

210
00:12:49,072 --> 00:12:54,036
I need to roll right under
the stairs and go to bed!

211
00:13:04,040 --> 00:13:08,012
I think this building is intriguing
both inside and out.

212
00:13:08,012 --> 00:13:10,068
It's embedded right on the edge
of the escarpment

213
00:13:10,068 --> 00:13:13,076
and becomes as much a piece
of landscape as a home.

214
00:13:15,076 --> 00:13:19,032
This house really has one single
simple idea

215
00:13:19,032 --> 00:13:21,048
that binds it all together.

216
00:13:22,072 --> 00:13:27,036
The main components of this diagram
are a long corridor that runs from

217
00:13:27,036 --> 00:13:29,096
east to west on the edge of this
escarpment,

218
00:13:29,096 --> 00:13:34,012
and along that corridor sits the
pieces of living space

219
00:13:34,012 --> 00:13:36,088
that are broken down into small
components,

220
00:13:36,088 --> 00:13:39,084
so when you arrive you
only ever see small bits

221
00:13:39,084 --> 00:13:42,008
of building in landscape.

222
00:13:42,008 --> 00:13:46,008
What happens then is the landscape
is brought like fingers

223
00:13:46,008 --> 00:13:48,052
with the water, the growing spaces,

224
00:13:48,052 --> 00:13:53,028
all of these brought right the way
into the heart of this house.

225
00:13:53,028 --> 00:13:57,048
All these bits of living space
look into landscape.

226
00:13:57,048 --> 00:14:02,088
The building uses landscape to make
a piece of architecture.

227
00:14:04,028 --> 00:14:06,048
And it's quite some piece
of architecture.

228
00:14:16,056 --> 00:14:20,004
As much as anything now, I'd like to
find out from architect

229
00:14:20,004 --> 00:14:22,048
Rafael Aranda what the clients
really wanted

230
00:14:22,048 --> 00:14:25,036
when they approached them
to design the house.

231
00:14:52,028 --> 00:14:56,052
There's also by and large one
material, one single material,

232
00:14:56,052 --> 00:14:58,092
that binds this house together.
Why steel?

233
00:15:24,000 --> 00:15:30,008
But this house is also
a place that has extraordinary

234
00:15:30,008 --> 00:15:32,092
qualities within it,
an extraordinary atmosphere,

235
00:15:32,092 --> 00:15:37,020
and one of the atmospheres
that I like the most

236
00:15:37,020 --> 00:15:40,012
is that of the very dark
and the very light.

237
00:15:40,012 --> 00:15:42,000
There's nothing in between.

238
00:16:01,096 --> 00:16:06,000
It's an experience enjoyed
by the owner Fina Puigdevall,

239
00:16:06,000 --> 00:16:09,004
who lives here with her husband
and two daughters.

240
00:16:09,004 --> 00:16:12,004
CHICKENS CLUCK
Hello, hennies.

241
00:16:12,004 --> 00:16:16,000
We're exploring the kitchen garden
below the house.

242
00:16:16,000 --> 00:16:18,048
These eggs, are they for home
or the restaurant?

243
00:16:18,048 --> 00:16:19,080
The restaurant and the home.

244
00:16:19,080 --> 00:16:21,072
Oh, both? You use them for both?
Yes.

245
00:16:21,072 --> 00:16:25,040
Fina's a Michelin-starred chef
who is passionate about cooking

246
00:16:25,040 --> 00:16:27,036
with fresh, local ingredients.

247
00:16:27,036 --> 00:16:33,028
Can we take in maybe some chard?
Yeah.We call this rainbow chard.

248
00:16:33,028 --> 00:16:38,064
Arco iris. Arco iris.Si, en Catalan
- arc de Sant Marti.

249
00:16:38,064 --> 00:16:40,056
Arc de Sant Marti.Yeah.

250
00:16:40,056 --> 00:16:43,036
Can I take some radishes?Yes.

251
00:16:43,036 --> 00:16:46,008
You can't eat veg fresher than this.

252
00:16:46,008 --> 00:16:50,076
Unless, like a slug, you eat your
lettuce while it's still growing.

253
00:16:50,076 --> 00:16:54,076
Oh! He's a big one. So he's good.
We'll give that carrot to Piers.

254
00:16:58,068 --> 00:17:00,080
The kitchen is Fina's
natural habitat,

255
00:17:00,080 --> 00:17:04,012
and it's probably a good idea not to
get under the feet of a chef

256
00:17:04,012 --> 00:17:05,096
while she's hard at work.

257
00:17:08,032 --> 00:17:15,012
The use of steel and rusted steel
is quite a bold statement, isn't it?

258
00:17:15,012 --> 00:17:19,020
I'd expect it to feel quite
intimidating and quite rough.

259
00:17:19,020 --> 00:17:23,092
But this house is actually
incredibly welcoming and very warm.

260
00:17:23,092 --> 00:17:26,036
Very warm. I mean, steel is a warm
colour.

261
00:17:26,036 --> 00:17:29,048
This mild steel that is corroding
slightly

262
00:17:29,048 --> 00:17:33,024
has this red, warm,
almost leather-like feel to it.

263
00:17:33,024 --> 00:17:36,072
Raw things are often warmer
than things that are finished

264
00:17:36,072 --> 00:17:39,008
and polished and everything.

265
00:17:39,008 --> 00:17:45,032
And I think this material gives this
room a really sumptuous feeling.

266
00:17:45,032 --> 00:17:47,088
It makes it feel luxurious,
actually.

267
00:17:47,088 --> 00:17:51,020
Even though it's mild steel that's
just going rusty.

268
00:17:56,084 --> 00:18:00,000
It's lovely to bring the nature
right...actually into the house.

269
00:18:00,000 --> 00:18:02,068
Look, the dragonflies are coming in.

270
00:18:02,068 --> 00:18:04,032
They're mating on their way in.Yes.

271
00:18:04,032 --> 00:18:06,024
Maybe that's a device to keep
the chickens out,

272
00:18:06,024 --> 00:18:09,028
because actually without that, the
chickens could just come in.

273
00:18:09,028 --> 00:18:11,060
Which I think would be really nice,
actually.

274
00:18:15,084 --> 00:18:18,000
There's no chicken on the menu
today.

275
00:18:19,036 --> 00:18:22,068
Finish.Just that home-grown veg.

276
00:18:22,068 --> 00:18:26,016
For me?Yes. But, yeah...

277
00:18:26,016 --> 00:18:28,096
Y luego...We picked it.
All your own work?Yeah.Yes.

278
00:18:28,096 --> 00:18:32,004
We worked very hard.
That's beautiful.For you.

279
00:18:32,004 --> 00:18:34,048
Delicious. Wow.

280
00:18:36,056 --> 00:18:40,056
So, what has the architecture
of this

281
00:18:40,056 --> 00:18:43,056
brought to your life?

282
00:18:45,088 --> 00:18:47,024
Yeah.

283
00:19:03,028 --> 00:19:07,076
What is the thing that brings
you most delight, most joy

284
00:19:07,076 --> 00:19:09,040
about living here?

285
00:19:45,072 --> 00:19:50,008
Peace? Yes.To peace?
Yes.This house and to peace.

286
00:19:53,096 --> 00:19:57,068
I had my doubts about living
in a big steel box,

287
00:19:57,068 --> 00:19:59,060
but I'm warming to the idea.

288
00:20:05,044 --> 00:20:08,040
I think at the end of the day,
which this is,

289
00:20:08,040 --> 00:20:13,072
you can judge a house
by the quality of its fire.

290
00:20:13,072 --> 00:20:16,056
I actually love
the generosity of this fire.

291
00:20:16,056 --> 00:20:20,024
And I love the way that
the fire is level

292
00:20:20,024 --> 00:20:22,080
with the ground around it.

293
00:20:24,012 --> 00:20:26,020
Have you ever seen a bigger flue?

294
00:20:26,020 --> 00:20:27,096
Be careful how you answer that.

295
00:20:27,096 --> 00:20:29,080
THEY LAUGH

296
00:20:29,080 --> 00:20:32,084
I have these friends that at the end
of the year, they write down all the

297
00:20:32,084 --> 00:20:35,012
things they want to get rid of
and put them in the fire

298
00:20:35,012 --> 00:20:36,056
and they go up the chimney.

299
00:20:36,056 --> 00:20:38,020
The bad things in their lives.

300
00:20:38,020 --> 00:20:41,000
Is there anything in your life
you need to banish now?

301
00:20:41,000 --> 00:20:43,028
Erm, well, there's so many things,

302
00:20:43,028 --> 00:20:46,012
I don't think this fire's
big enough, really.

303
00:20:46,012 --> 00:20:47,048
Do you not think?
No.

304
00:20:47,048 --> 00:20:50,072
I think you've got it pretty
much sorted, Caroline.You reckon?

305
00:20:50,072 --> 00:20:53,072
You only see the best of me,
though, Piers.

306
00:20:53,072 --> 00:20:56,008
There's only the best of you,
Caroline.Yeah.

307
00:21:04,096 --> 00:21:06,068
We've left farmland behind

308
00:21:06,068 --> 00:21:11,012
and travelled south-west to
the outskirts of the capital city.

309
00:21:14,056 --> 00:21:18,048
Here in the suburbs, one architect
has chosen to showcase his work

310
00:21:18,048 --> 00:21:21,092
by building a really unusual family
home.

311
00:21:23,068 --> 00:21:28,012
I grew up in suburbia and the thing
I remember about suburban houses

312
00:21:28,012 --> 00:21:31,028
is the sort of similarity
that nobody really wants

313
00:21:31,028 --> 00:21:33,020
to do anything out of the ordinary

314
00:21:33,020 --> 00:21:36,000
or anything that'll make
the neighbours stare.

315
00:21:36,000 --> 00:21:37,068
The twitching curtains...Yeah.

316
00:21:37,068 --> 00:21:39,080
..when anyone paints
their front door

317
00:21:39,080 --> 00:21:42,052
a subtly different shade of beige.
Exactly.

318
00:21:44,032 --> 00:21:47,024
But this architect isn't worried
about creating a stir

319
00:21:47,024 --> 00:21:48,052
in the neighbourhood.

320
00:21:48,052 --> 00:21:51,064
He's done something very different.

321
00:21:53,048 --> 00:21:54,096
Wow.

322
00:21:54,096 --> 00:21:58,076
# I want to break free

323
00:21:58,076 --> 00:22:03,016
# I want to break free... #

324
00:22:03,016 --> 00:22:06,092
Unhampered by the usual strictures
of a suburban build,

325
00:22:06,092 --> 00:22:12,000
this house wears its challenging
architectural identity like armour,

326
00:22:12,000 --> 00:22:13,076
on the outside.

327
00:22:13,076 --> 00:22:15,000
For the ancient Greeks,

328
00:22:15,000 --> 00:22:18,040
Hemeroscopium was a place that only
existed in the mind,

329
00:22:18,040 --> 00:22:20,012
a place defined by light.

330
00:22:20,012 --> 00:22:24,004
Will this concrete house live up
to its namesake?

331
00:22:24,004 --> 00:22:28,040
This is a hugely grand entrance
in the classical tradition.

332
00:22:28,040 --> 00:22:32,028
This is an extraordinary
covered portico.

333
00:22:32,028 --> 00:22:33,080
But it's not a classical building.

334
00:22:33,080 --> 00:22:36,092
I mean, this is a building made
out of huge bits of concrete,

335
00:22:36,092 --> 00:22:39,088
made out of what looks like
pieces of bridge.

336
00:22:39,088 --> 00:22:44,020
It reminds me a little bit of -
I don't know - Stonehenge,

337
00:22:44,020 --> 00:22:47,048
or you know when you go to Athens
and there are piles of columns

338
00:22:47,048 --> 00:22:49,060
that have fallen in
on top of each other?

339
00:22:49,060 --> 00:22:51,032
It feels historic, doesn't it?

340
00:22:51,032 --> 00:22:53,032
It does. I mean, this is a bit of
ancient Greece

341
00:22:53,032 --> 00:22:56,000
in many ways that's landed
in a Spanish suburb.

342
00:22:56,000 --> 00:22:58,076
But it's made out of 21st-century
materials like concrete,

343
00:22:58,076 --> 00:23:02,072
and there's a swimming pool and
a table tennis table and a speaker.

344
00:23:02,072 --> 00:23:05,072
It's the ancient and the modern
all in one place.

345
00:23:08,004 --> 00:23:10,032
Creating this home was a challenge.

346
00:23:11,068 --> 00:23:15,064
It took owner architect
Anton Garcia-Abril a year

347
00:23:15,064 --> 00:23:19,060
just to calculate the exact
positioning of each element.

348
00:23:23,020 --> 00:23:27,024
The house is made of seven
vast concrete and steel beams,

349
00:23:27,024 --> 00:23:30,052
each supporting the other
in the form of an upward spiral,

350
00:23:30,052 --> 00:23:33,024
held in place by a 20-tonne
lump of granite

351
00:23:33,024 --> 00:23:35,060
which acts as a counterweight.

352
00:23:36,096 --> 00:23:41,032
Outside, the beams form a large
courtyard around the swimming pool.

353
00:23:42,052 --> 00:23:45,012
Downstairs, there's plenty of family
living space,

354
00:23:45,012 --> 00:23:47,012
and upstairs
there's the main bedroom

355
00:23:47,012 --> 00:23:48,072
and another for the children.

356
00:23:52,048 --> 00:23:54,020
The real genius of this house

357
00:23:54,020 --> 00:23:57,076
is that it's made of sections
of precast concrete and steel

358
00:23:57,076 --> 00:24:01,008
normally found in huge construction
projects.

359
00:24:04,000 --> 00:24:07,092
Take a closer look at Hemeroscopium
and bridges, motorways,

360
00:24:07,092 --> 00:24:11,044
overpasses and even drainage ditches
start to appear.

361
00:24:13,056 --> 00:24:19,036
But, miraculously, put it all
together and the result is heroic.

362
00:24:25,028 --> 00:24:27,036
This is a dining room and this is a
living room.

363
00:24:27,036 --> 00:24:30,072
But again, unlike most suburban
houses, they're made out of the most

364
00:24:30,072 --> 00:24:34,028
enormous pieces of precast concrete
of this scale.

365
00:24:34,028 --> 00:24:37,008
This is a precast concrete plank
on the floor,

366
00:24:37,008 --> 00:24:39,012
the sort that you'd make a car park
out of.

367
00:24:39,012 --> 00:24:41,028
And this inside and outside wall at

368
00:24:41,028 --> 00:24:44,084
the back here is a 20-metre long
precast concrete I-beam.

369
00:24:47,096 --> 00:24:50,048
The structure has been left exposed
throughout the house,

370
00:24:50,048 --> 00:24:54,060
creating a striking background
for informal family life.

371
00:25:06,004 --> 00:25:09,076
I can't go on without showing you
this special surprise

372
00:25:09,076 --> 00:25:11,076
which leads off the bedroom.

373
00:25:11,076 --> 00:25:14,052
Look at this.

374
00:25:19,012 --> 00:25:22,024
Imagine waking up in the morning
and then thinking,

375
00:25:22,024 --> 00:25:25,056
"Oh, I just fancy a little
bit of a swim."

376
00:25:25,056 --> 00:25:29,092
And just off your bedroom is this.

377
00:25:29,092 --> 00:25:32,092
Not a bad way to start
the day, is it?

378
00:25:32,092 --> 00:25:35,032
The spectacular floating
swimming pool

379
00:25:35,032 --> 00:25:39,044
is supposed to give the swimmer
the experience of flying.

380
00:25:39,044 --> 00:25:41,092
I'm looking forward to taking
flight later.

381
00:25:42,092 --> 00:25:46,048
It's remarkable that a house made
of bits of motorway

382
00:25:46,048 --> 00:25:50,060
can be so homely,
despite the 230-tonne concrete shell

383
00:25:50,060 --> 00:25:52,060
and mammoth proportions.

384
00:25:57,048 --> 00:26:01,036
And the height of the house
offers an added bonus.

385
00:26:01,036 --> 00:26:03,096
An outdoor space that would be
the envy

386
00:26:03,096 --> 00:26:07,032
of any suburban curtain twitcher.

387
00:26:10,012 --> 00:26:13,012
And this is the perfect vantage
point

388
00:26:13,012 --> 00:26:16,016
to see how this extraordinary house,

389
00:26:16,016 --> 00:26:22,024
this huge structure, sits in
ordinary suburban Madrid.

390
00:26:22,024 --> 00:26:25,064
And we know we are in suburbia
because of the sounds around us.

391
00:26:25,064 --> 00:26:32,004
We've got dogs barking, chainsaws,
cars starting, birdsong,

392
00:26:32,004 --> 00:26:36,052
and somehow this house is just
plonked down right in the middle

393
00:26:36,052 --> 00:26:39,004
of all this ordinary Spanish life.

394
00:26:43,088 --> 00:26:47,048
Considering how bold the whole
of the exterior is,

395
00:26:47,048 --> 00:26:50,064
the interior doesn't need to make
quite as much of a statement.

396
00:26:54,056 --> 00:26:56,004
Have you discovered, Caroline,

397
00:26:56,004 --> 00:26:58,064
this is actually quite a
straightforward house inside?

398
00:26:58,064 --> 00:27:00,052
The kitchen isn't perched at the end

399
00:27:00,052 --> 00:27:03,060
of an enormous cantilevered bit of
concrete or something.

400
00:27:03,060 --> 00:27:08,052
No, it's a modest house inside
an extraordinary exterior.

401
00:27:08,052 --> 00:27:12,016
Because it's all about that space,
that living room.

402
00:27:12,016 --> 00:27:14,000
It's all about this.

403
00:27:14,000 --> 00:27:16,020
Outside space, the weather,

404
00:27:16,020 --> 00:27:19,048
and having a wonderful place
to be outside.

405
00:27:19,048 --> 00:27:22,068
And, of course, in a place like this
you want, I guess,

406
00:27:22,068 --> 00:27:25,004
four times as much living space
as domestic space.

407
00:27:25,004 --> 00:27:26,068
And they've got that, haven't they?

408
00:27:26,068 --> 00:27:28,048
They do, yeah.
I mean, that's perfect.

409
00:27:28,048 --> 00:27:31,008
I mean, this is living space.
This is the key living space.

410
00:27:31,008 --> 00:27:33,052
This is the house. The rest of it
is sort of incidental.

411
00:27:33,052 --> 00:27:39,024
It's ideal. I think
it's a perfect space.Oh!

412
00:27:39,024 --> 00:27:41,016
Look at the spin on that.

413
00:27:41,016 --> 00:27:45,068
Oh! Get you! I expect when they're
all here, they are doing this,

414
00:27:45,068 --> 00:27:47,084
playing ping-pong, you know?

415
00:27:47,084 --> 00:27:51,036
Not bad, is it, to be in the suburbs
and have all this play stuff around?

416
00:27:51,036 --> 00:27:53,060
I mean, this is where the action is.

417
00:27:53,060 --> 00:27:57,012
For the record, I thrashed him.
Just saying.

418
00:27:58,036 --> 00:28:01,076
Time for a celebratory dip
in that mid-air pool.

419
00:28:04,084 --> 00:28:10,056
This house has the perfect ratio
of bedrooms to swimming pools.

420
00:28:10,056 --> 00:28:13,092
Two bedrooms, two swimming pools.

421
00:28:22,020 --> 00:28:25,004
From its floating pool to its
cantilevered structure,

422
00:28:25,004 --> 00:28:28,084
there's an interesting and unusual
architectural mind at work here.

423
00:28:30,016 --> 00:28:33,040
I'm keen to find out more
from Anton, the architect.

424
00:28:34,080 --> 00:28:38,012
So there's seven key pieces of
structure with a stone on top

425
00:28:38,012 --> 00:28:41,096
that stops everything from
falling over, I guess.

426
00:28:41,096 --> 00:28:47,008
Well, there's a heli-coil structure.

427
00:28:47,008 --> 00:28:49,040
It's a helix.It's a helix.

428
00:28:49,040 --> 00:28:54,032
Each piece is absolutely essential
to the equilibrium of the whole,

429
00:28:54,032 --> 00:29:00,024
and all that circuit culminates
with the 20-tonne granite stone.

430
00:29:01,044 --> 00:29:05,020
Were you surprised by the scale of
all of this when it came together?

431
00:29:05,020 --> 00:29:07,076
Yeah. I was very surprised

432
00:29:07,076 --> 00:29:12,072
that even though we used these
heavy traces of structure

433
00:29:12,072 --> 00:29:18,040
that are massive,
we obtained a very light space,

434
00:29:18,040 --> 00:29:20,064
a very transparent and light space

435
00:29:20,064 --> 00:29:25,008
by the action of lifting...of the
effort of the structure,

436
00:29:25,008 --> 00:29:26,080
of almost unearthing,

437
00:29:26,080 --> 00:29:30,068
the space became fluent and
light and transparent.

438
00:29:32,068 --> 00:29:35,024
Unsurprisingly,
not many building contractors

439
00:29:35,024 --> 00:29:37,052
would touch Anton's house with
a barge pole,

440
00:29:37,052 --> 00:29:39,096
which meant he had to oversee
the work himself.

441
00:29:41,024 --> 00:29:44,076
Having calculated every position
and manoeuvre in advance,

442
00:29:44,076 --> 00:29:48,056
it took just seven days to build the
structure of his family home.

443
00:29:52,044 --> 00:29:54,040
And this is a family house,
isn't it?

444
00:29:54,040 --> 00:29:55,060
You have children.

445
00:29:55,060 --> 00:29:59,084
We have four kids, different ages
from four to 16.

446
00:29:59,084 --> 00:30:04,028
The 16-year-old loves the courtyard
to do his birthday parties.

447
00:30:04,028 --> 00:30:07,028
And the four-year-olds love the
transparency,

448
00:30:07,028 --> 00:30:10,016
because they could be all
over the house

449
00:30:10,016 --> 00:30:12,088
without being confined or enclosed.

450
00:30:12,088 --> 00:30:15,040
How do you feel about the space now?

451
00:30:15,040 --> 00:30:20,040
Where is the most potent bit of joy
in this house?

452
00:30:21,068 --> 00:30:24,072
I think there's two moments of joy
in this house.

453
00:30:24,072 --> 00:30:29,072
The social moment that is confined
and embraced by the structure

454
00:30:29,072 --> 00:30:32,052
in this courtyard.
It's an open courtyard.

455
00:30:32,052 --> 00:30:35,076
And another extraordinary moment
of this house

456
00:30:35,076 --> 00:30:41,072
is that you get the panoramic views
when you go to bed at night.

457
00:30:41,072 --> 00:30:44,064
But we love this house.
And so do we.

458
00:30:46,044 --> 00:30:48,012
This is not a precious house.

459
00:30:48,012 --> 00:30:50,092
It makes you want to climb
all over it.

460
00:30:50,092 --> 00:30:54,024
That's great. He's been longing to
do that all-day.

461
00:30:54,024 --> 00:30:59,016
Work it. That's nice.
That's nice. That's nice, Piers.

462
00:31:00,064 --> 00:31:02,040
These I-beams tower above me.

463
00:31:02,040 --> 00:31:04,088
I can't even begin to get anywhere
near it, you know?

464
00:31:04,088 --> 00:31:08,068
It's a big piece of structure.
It's, you know, eight, nine feet.

465
00:31:12,016 --> 00:31:13,080
Everything here is big.

466
00:31:13,080 --> 00:31:15,056
Actually, that is a great shot.

467
00:31:15,056 --> 00:31:18,012
The thing that you're standing
next to

468
00:31:18,012 --> 00:31:20,092
that now looks enormous
is a big Vierendeel truss.

469
00:31:20,092 --> 00:31:24,024
God, that's a great shot.
Can you just move that way a bit?

470
00:31:24,024 --> 00:31:26,016
Yeah, sorry. No, no, no, no.

471
00:31:26,016 --> 00:31:29,020
I'm trying to get it without you,
actually.You want to get me out?

472
00:31:29,020 --> 00:31:31,020
Yeah. It's a great bit of structure.

473
00:31:31,020 --> 00:31:35,088
I mean, that is the perfect series
of two trusses coming together.

474
00:31:37,052 --> 00:31:42,048
When Piers starts talking double
trusses, it's time to move on.

475
00:31:43,084 --> 00:31:46,008
This house is really unusual.

476
00:31:46,008 --> 00:31:48,000
I mean, it's a real one-off,

477
00:31:48,000 --> 00:31:51,008
because you almost never see
structure used

478
00:31:51,008 --> 00:31:53,092
with a primary purpose
of making space.

479
00:31:53,092 --> 00:31:58,032
I mean, there's something really
poetic in taking these things,

480
00:31:58,032 --> 00:32:00,028
these off-the-shelf pieces
of structure,

481
00:32:00,028 --> 00:32:03,068
and using them to make domestic
space.

482
00:32:03,068 --> 00:32:06,088
I think what will always stay
with me about this house

483
00:32:06,088 --> 00:32:10,024
is arriving to find
an heroic Greek temple

484
00:32:10,024 --> 00:32:13,004
behind a gate on a suburban street.

485
00:32:16,092 --> 00:32:19,020
It's nice to walk off into
the sunset with you, P.

486
00:32:19,020 --> 00:32:20,084
It is. Where are we going now?

487
00:32:20,084 --> 00:32:22,068
We're going off the beaten track...

488
00:32:24,052 --> 00:32:28,040
..to a sleepy historic corner
of north-west Spain

489
00:32:28,040 --> 00:32:31,080
barely touched by tourism.

490
00:32:39,024 --> 00:32:40,092
These medieval towns... I mean,

491
00:32:40,092 --> 00:32:43,016
really, when someone opens
a window here,

492
00:32:43,016 --> 00:32:46,020
I expect them to come out in sort
of doublets and hose.

493
00:32:46,020 --> 00:32:47,076
Don't they?

494
00:32:47,076 --> 00:32:51,000
I noticed you did this morning
and congratulations, by the way.

495
00:32:51,000 --> 00:32:53,064
Not many men can carry that off!

496
00:32:55,084 --> 00:33:00,016
This may seem an unlikely place
to find cutting-edge architecture.

497
00:33:00,016 --> 00:33:03,020
But this is Spain
and anything is possible.

498
00:33:08,040 --> 00:33:11,076
Our next house turns tradition
on its head.

499
00:33:13,008 --> 00:33:15,040
Not far out of
town, there's an arts project

500
00:33:15,040 --> 00:33:18,088
going on unlike anything else
in the world.

501
00:33:18,088 --> 00:33:20,080
We're eager to find out more.

502
00:33:27,008 --> 00:33:31,096
And it's out there somewhere in this
densely forested mountain region.

503
00:33:31,096 --> 00:33:35,064
Our sat nav has brought us
to the end of the road.

504
00:33:35,064 --> 00:33:37,072
SHE SIGHS
Top of the hill.

505
00:33:37,072 --> 00:33:40,032
And still no sign of civilisation.

506
00:34:04,084 --> 00:34:06,068
The architects of this holiday home

507
00:34:06,068 --> 00:34:10,088
deliberately set out to challenge
our preconceptions of how to live.

508
00:34:12,052 --> 00:34:14,084
They were given free rein to build
this house,

509
00:34:14,084 --> 00:34:16,024
and it shows what can happen

510
00:34:16,024 --> 00:34:18,064
if you give architects creative
freedom.

511
00:34:20,036 --> 00:34:24,040
It's a very singular thing,
isn't it?

512
00:34:24,040 --> 00:34:26,068
A big O on a mountain top.

513
00:34:28,004 --> 00:34:31,020
So this is how you would command a
site, historically, isn't it?

514
00:34:31,020 --> 00:34:33,060
This is...Find the highest point?

515
00:34:33,060 --> 00:34:36,024
Well, this is... This is a little
hilltop fort, isn't it?

516
00:34:36,024 --> 00:34:37,068
Yeah, yeah.

517
00:34:37,068 --> 00:34:39,020
There is something ancient,

518
00:34:39,020 --> 00:34:41,084
like we stumbled upon some sort
of ancient civilisation.

519
00:34:41,084 --> 00:34:43,092
But also it feels quite futuristic.

520
00:34:43,092 --> 00:34:47,092
But a timeless way of making
a place, ultimately.

521
00:34:47,092 --> 00:34:51,036
At the top of a hill,
push out your defensible space

522
00:34:51,036 --> 00:34:55,056
to the outside, and then make
a sacred space in the middle.

523
00:34:55,056 --> 00:34:58,016
That's right, it feels sacred.

524
00:34:58,016 --> 00:35:01,032
It feels sacred, doesn't it?
It does in a way. It really does.

525
00:35:01,032 --> 00:35:04,060
And it's not often I say that,
because it sounds like a cliche.

526
00:35:04,060 --> 00:35:06,024
But this does.Yeah.

527
00:35:06,024 --> 00:35:08,084
Sort of an Aztec
sort of sacred quality?

528
00:35:08,084 --> 00:35:11,092
Yeah. But I think that is because it
makes sense for where it is.

529
00:35:11,092 --> 00:35:13,056
A sensible way...

530
00:35:13,056 --> 00:35:15,040
Well, it's a sensible way to make a

531
00:35:15,040 --> 00:35:17,080
bit of space that contains something
else.

532
00:35:17,080 --> 00:35:20,064
This is wilderness,
this is wild country out here.

533
00:35:20,064 --> 00:35:22,064
And this is untamed wilderness.

534
00:35:27,056 --> 00:35:29,096
Assigned a plot on a hilltop
plateau,

535
00:35:29,096 --> 00:35:34,068
the architects chose a circular
45-metre diameter design,

536
00:35:34,068 --> 00:35:37,048
so as to make the most
of the panoramic views.

537
00:35:38,084 --> 00:35:41,064
Four rows of steel columns support
the roof,

538
00:35:41,064 --> 00:35:44,044
while walls of glass
help the building dissolve

539
00:35:44,044 --> 00:35:47,028
into the landscape.

540
00:35:47,028 --> 00:35:50,076
There are four crescent-shape
segments of domestic space,

541
00:35:50,076 --> 00:35:54,020
including an outdoor utility room,
three bedrooms

542
00:35:54,020 --> 00:35:56,052
and a living room kitchen diner.

543
00:36:02,028 --> 00:36:05,040
Oh, I like that, because that sounds
like a Starship Enterprise door.

544
00:36:05,040 --> 00:36:07,056
Psssshhhh!Pssssssh!

545
00:36:07,056 --> 00:36:09,084
I could never make that noise.
I've never been able to.

546
00:36:09,084 --> 00:36:11,064
You just did.Did I?

547
00:36:13,072 --> 00:36:17,096
What's this, P?It's just polycarb.
Polycarbonate with some...

548
00:36:17,096 --> 00:36:21,020
It looks like expanded aluminium
mesh behind.

549
00:36:21,020 --> 00:36:22,036
For shading, I guess.

550
00:36:22,036 --> 00:36:25,016
It's a good space for a kitchen.
It's a little...

551
00:36:25,016 --> 00:36:29,012
Sliver?Yes, a sliver of building,
but...

552
00:36:29,012 --> 00:36:31,028
Oh, OK.That opens up, I think.

553
00:36:31,028 --> 00:36:35,008
For most of the year, you can
open all of these screens.

554
00:36:35,008 --> 00:36:36,080
Oh, hang on, I can help you do this.

555
00:36:38,060 --> 00:36:40,004
How's that? Hang on.

556
00:36:42,016 --> 00:36:45,020
Push!Nearly. Oh.

557
00:36:46,052 --> 00:36:48,072
Come and check it out from here!

558
00:36:48,072 --> 00:36:52,032
Oh, yeah!And the character of this
room has changed completely.

559
00:36:52,032 --> 00:36:56,096
It suddenly becomes one of the most
amazing kitchens in the whole world,

560
00:36:56,096 --> 00:36:59,072
because the wilderness is just here.

561
00:36:59,072 --> 00:37:03,044
It's now the biggest room in Spain.
Yeah.

562
00:37:03,044 --> 00:37:06,020
We're out in the wilds.
We're by the mountains!

563
00:37:06,020 --> 00:37:08,048
And you have another perspective on
this world

564
00:37:08,048 --> 00:37:10,004
that this has just given you.

565
00:37:10,004 --> 00:37:12,020
It's wonderful, because it's a big
zero,

566
00:37:12,020 --> 00:37:16,028
and yet just by moving from this bit
of the zero

567
00:37:16,028 --> 00:37:18,052
to outside the zero...

568
00:37:19,080 --> 00:37:21,060
..the whole house changes
personality!

569
00:37:21,060 --> 00:37:24,024
I think it's the edges of buildings
that are the most important.

570
00:37:24,024 --> 00:37:26,036
The edge is where you can sit,
where you can perch,

571
00:37:26,036 --> 00:37:28,044
the bit that separates
the in from the out,

572
00:37:28,044 --> 00:37:31,056
the bit that divides things without
there literally being a wall.

573
00:37:31,056 --> 00:37:34,040
Yeah.What's wonderful is how close
to nature

574
00:37:34,040 --> 00:37:36,072
this house allows us to be.

575
00:37:36,072 --> 00:37:39,044
It's a beautiful place to sit
and contemplate.

576
00:37:39,044 --> 00:37:42,068
Or as my friend says,
"Complicating the world."

577
00:37:42,068 --> 00:37:44,048
You could spend a lot of time here

578
00:37:44,048 --> 00:37:47,076
complicating the world, couldn't
you?Yeah.

579
00:37:53,072 --> 00:37:57,060
These open-plan, crescent-shaped
living places are pretty radical,

580
00:37:57,060 --> 00:37:59,056
but somehow they work.

581
00:38:01,020 --> 00:38:04,004
I like it that really
it's just bits of furniture

582
00:38:04,004 --> 00:38:06,028
that deal with separating spaces.

583
00:38:06,028 --> 00:38:08,000
But they all do something.

584
00:38:08,000 --> 00:38:10,068
And this stuff, I mean,
this stuff is the sort of stuff

585
00:38:10,068 --> 00:38:12,076
that if you're a punk singer
in the 1970s,

586
00:38:12,076 --> 00:38:14,036
you would have made a dress out of.

587
00:38:14,036 --> 00:38:16,052
It's fantastically trashy
in the best sense.

588
00:38:16,052 --> 00:38:18,064
Do you reckon this is
an industrial fabric?

589
00:38:18,064 --> 00:38:21,096
Yeah, this is reflective aluminium
fabric that...

590
00:38:21,096 --> 00:38:24,004
It actually keeps heat in,
that's what it's for.

591
00:38:24,004 --> 00:38:25,032
So this is for the winter?

592
00:38:25,032 --> 00:38:26,084
Yeah, you can shut it in the winter,

593
00:38:26,084 --> 00:38:29,036
but what's great is that you can
shut it even in the summer,

594
00:38:29,036 --> 00:38:31,016
if you want it to filter
the sunlight.

595
00:38:31,016 --> 00:38:32,064
Oh, very good.

596
00:38:32,064 --> 00:38:35,068
But the way it deals with light
and surface is beautiful.

597
00:38:35,068 --> 00:38:37,088
I mean, that stuff I think is
beautiful.

598
00:38:37,088 --> 00:38:40,056
I think the quality of the light
filtering through

599
00:38:40,056 --> 00:38:43,060
that expanded metal and
this polycarbonate is beautiful.

600
00:38:43,060 --> 00:38:46,048
I mean, it's really sumptuous,
this house, in some ways.

601
00:38:46,048 --> 00:38:48,004
It's a beautiful thing,

602
00:38:48,004 --> 00:38:51,048
but it's made out of stuff that
is just industrial materials.

603
00:38:51,048 --> 00:38:54,040
The floors are polished concrete?
This is polished concrete, yeah.

604
00:38:54,040 --> 00:38:56,008
It's had the surface ground off,

605
00:38:56,008 --> 00:38:58,040
and you see the exposed aggregate,
you know?

606
00:38:58,040 --> 00:38:59,088
So that looks like a terrazzo floor?

607
00:38:59,088 --> 00:39:02,072
It looks like terrazzo,
but it's polished concrete.Yeah.

608
00:39:02,072 --> 00:39:04,032
And the lights are just hanging.

609
00:39:04,032 --> 00:39:06,064
I mean, it's a really simple way
of making a building,

610
00:39:06,064 --> 00:39:09,000
but it's really sophisticated
at the same time

611
00:39:09,000 --> 00:39:10,056
in terms of how it makes space.

612
00:39:15,012 --> 00:39:20,084
Creating this circular property
was an architectural challenge,

613
00:39:20,084 --> 00:39:24,044
as the roof and floor are each
continuous stretches of concrete.

614
00:39:31,068 --> 00:39:36,024
The floor was poured in one day,
working against the clock

615
00:39:36,024 --> 00:39:39,084
to ensure that 550 tonnes
of concrete didn't set

616
00:39:39,084 --> 00:39:42,048
Before the circle was complete.

617
00:39:46,016 --> 00:39:50,032
And with 800 scaffolding poles
providing support,

618
00:39:50,032 --> 00:39:52,080
the process was repeated
to create the roof.

619
00:39:54,076 --> 00:39:57,072
Resulting in two seamless rings.

620
00:40:03,096 --> 00:40:06,000
This house has such a simple idea,

621
00:40:06,000 --> 00:40:11,008
because the idea is one single,
simple circle.

622
00:40:11,008 --> 00:40:13,096
That is it.

623
00:40:13,096 --> 00:40:18,068
A space of just empty landscape.

624
00:40:18,068 --> 00:40:23,096
In the middle of this
is a piece of Spanish wilderness.

625
00:40:23,096 --> 00:40:28,016
There is another circle
that runs around the outside,

626
00:40:28,016 --> 00:40:35,008
which stops the wilderness,
the real wilderness, from coming in.

627
00:40:35,008 --> 00:40:38,004
The space that is the doughnut is

628
00:40:38,004 --> 00:40:41,088
to all intents and purposes
a domestic space.

629
00:40:41,088 --> 00:40:46,076
And how this architect has made it
usable is to turn it into a square.

630
00:40:46,076 --> 00:40:53,020
What they've done is add in four
straight walls across the plan.

631
00:40:53,020 --> 00:40:58,088
And what these square walls do
is, of course, allow you

632
00:40:58,088 --> 00:41:03,036
to place things like beds
and kitchens and bathrooms, etc.

633
00:41:03,036 --> 00:41:06,028
But I think the best thing, of
course, is that you never quite know

634
00:41:06,028 --> 00:41:08,036
whether you're inside or outside,
or whether

635
00:41:08,036 --> 00:41:10,084
you're part of this huge bit of
wilderness

636
00:41:10,084 --> 00:41:15,084
or whether you're still
inside this protected inner circle.

637
00:41:15,084 --> 00:41:23,040
This is just a very simple square
within a circle.

638
00:41:29,064 --> 00:41:31,056
Exactly.

639
00:41:36,024 --> 00:41:39,024
The great joy of this house is that

640
00:41:39,024 --> 00:41:44,020
all the rooms open up wide
to the elements.

641
00:41:44,020 --> 00:41:47,088
And I don't just mean the kitchen.
I mean all the rooms.

642
00:41:47,088 --> 00:41:50,064
The bedrooms and the bathrooms too.

643
00:41:50,064 --> 00:41:53,032
# All the ducks
are swimming in the water

644
00:41:53,032 --> 00:41:57,000
# Fal-de-ral-de-ral-de
Fal-de-ral-de-ral-de

645
00:41:57,000 --> 00:42:00,088
# All the ducks
are swimming in the water

646
00:42:00,088 --> 00:42:03,036
# Fal-de-ral-de-ral-de
Fal-de-ral-de-ral-de... #

647
00:42:11,036 --> 00:42:15,028
I really love the way that this
living space works in the round.

648
00:42:15,028 --> 00:42:19,068
And also the ambiguous relationship
between inside and out.

649
00:42:23,092 --> 00:42:27,068
Just over the hill is
a second high-concept house.

650
00:42:27,068 --> 00:42:31,076
Both homes have been built
for Frenchman Christian Bourdais.

651
00:42:31,076 --> 00:42:37,028
Rather than collect modern art,
he collects modern architecture.

652
00:42:37,028 --> 00:42:40,096
His aim is to create
a park with holiday rentals,

653
00:42:40,096 --> 00:42:44,088
designed by some of the most
adventurous architects in the world.

654
00:42:44,088 --> 00:42:48,012
He's currently making a film
in Israel.

655
00:42:51,080 --> 00:42:53,092
Hello.Bonjour, bonjour!

656
00:42:53,092 --> 00:42:56,044
Bonjour, Christian.
Je suis Caroline...

657
00:42:56,044 --> 00:42:58,016
Non.

658
00:42:58,016 --> 00:43:03,080
Hi. From the moment we arrived,
it's such a fun place to be.

659
00:43:03,080 --> 00:43:07,048
What we want to do with the Solo
House programme

660
00:43:07,048 --> 00:43:10,092
is kind of not speaking
about square metres,

661
00:43:10,092 --> 00:43:15,052
but about picking a real
architectural experience.

662
00:43:15,052 --> 00:43:19,008
And is that how you came up
with the idea of this project?

663
00:43:19,008 --> 00:43:24,040
The idea was to make an
architectural collection of houses

664
00:43:24,040 --> 00:43:27,020
in which all the architects can go
a little bit further

665
00:43:27,020 --> 00:43:29,068
than they are used to go.

666
00:43:29,068 --> 00:43:34,080
But what is important for me is
choosing of this team of architects,

667
00:43:34,080 --> 00:43:39,032
who are supposed to be,
from my opinions,

668
00:43:39,032 --> 00:43:43,056
the next generation of important
architects in the world.

669
00:43:43,056 --> 00:43:48,060
Where does it come from, this desire
to work with new architecture?

670
00:43:48,060 --> 00:43:52,060
We are very close to a generation
of artists,

671
00:43:52,060 --> 00:43:55,012
very good artists,
international artists.

672
00:43:55,012 --> 00:44:01,000
And the idea was to give the same
liberty of creation in architecture

673
00:44:01,000 --> 00:44:02,092
as an artist has.

674
00:44:02,092 --> 00:44:05,088
The world is going against
architecture.

675
00:44:05,088 --> 00:44:10,052
Developers today
give so many restrictions

676
00:44:10,052 --> 00:44:13,092
that the architects...

677
00:44:13,092 --> 00:44:18,020
It's not so easy for the architects
to express the creativity.

678
00:44:18,020 --> 00:44:22,044
And ultimately, Christian,
you are going to curate

679
00:44:22,044 --> 00:44:25,016
this whole collection of buildings.

680
00:44:25,016 --> 00:44:28,048
How many will there be?15 houses.

681
00:44:28,048 --> 00:44:34,004
Wow!But the idea is to really
create a place in Europe

682
00:44:34,004 --> 00:44:38,012
where we concentrate experiences
in architecture

683
00:44:38,012 --> 00:44:40,044
unique in the world.

684
00:44:44,068 --> 00:44:50,000
A sneak preview of other houses
Christian wants to build.

685
00:44:51,084 --> 00:44:56,088
With architects given carte blanche,
the only limit is imagination.

686
00:45:00,092 --> 00:45:04,036
The real luxury that I found in this
house isn't in the fixtures

687
00:45:04,036 --> 00:45:06,076
or fittings, but in the pure
relationship

688
00:45:06,076 --> 00:45:09,000
it has to architectural theory.

689
00:45:10,048 --> 00:45:12,096
This is a house that reminds me
of the joy

690
00:45:12,096 --> 00:45:15,012
of the artistry of architecture.

691
00:45:15,012 --> 00:45:17,092
You can really experiment
and explore ideas

692
00:45:17,092 --> 00:45:20,048
for their own sake. Don't you think?

693
00:45:22,036 --> 00:45:24,052
Yeah, I do. I agree.

694
00:45:27,000 --> 00:45:29,016
What can I do?

695
00:45:29,016 --> 00:45:31,004
Go and get your trunks on.

696
00:45:44,084 --> 00:45:50,016
For our final house, we've come to
the south-east corner of Spain.

697
00:45:50,016 --> 00:45:51,080
The arid landscape here

698
00:45:51,080 --> 00:45:56,056
has been the backdrop
for many Spaghetti Westerns.

699
00:45:56,056 --> 00:46:00,048
It's very no-nonsense,
this landscape, isn't it?

700
00:46:01,056 --> 00:46:03,000
It is.You don't see too many

701
00:46:03,000 --> 00:46:05,076
flash houses or people showing off,
do you?

702
00:46:05,076 --> 00:46:07,076
No, you really don't.

703
00:46:07,076 --> 00:46:10,064
There's not that sort of
swimming pool culture either, is it?

704
00:46:10,064 --> 00:46:14,012
No, it's not bling villa...
No...Spain, is it?

705
00:46:17,028 --> 00:46:19,012
We've heard about three sisters

706
00:46:19,012 --> 00:46:22,084
who asked their architects to create
an elegant rural getaway

707
00:46:22,084 --> 00:46:25,092
out in what feels like
the middle of nowhere.

708
00:46:27,056 --> 00:46:30,040
Hang on. Slow down,
slow down, slow down. Slow down.

709
00:46:33,092 --> 00:46:37,008
That's it. That is it.

710
00:46:37,008 --> 00:46:41,048
# Three
That's the magic number

711
00:46:42,088 --> 00:46:46,012
# Yes it is
It's the magic number... #

712
00:46:46,012 --> 00:46:48,056
The architects here were tasked

713
00:46:48,056 --> 00:46:52,000
with creating a family
home for communal living.

714
00:46:54,056 --> 00:46:59,028
But each of the three families
also wanted their own private space.

715
00:47:00,048 --> 00:47:05,028
The result - three separate homes
linked by a shared courtyard.

716
00:47:07,020 --> 00:47:11,056
A mini village that cleverly gives
the sisters all they asked for.

717
00:47:11,056 --> 00:47:14,064
# Three is the magic number... #

718
00:47:16,056 --> 00:47:19,092
This is the least precious,

719
00:47:19,092 --> 00:47:23,064
extraordinary home in Spain,
isn't it?

720
00:47:23,064 --> 00:47:26,060
I mean, this is beautiful,

721
00:47:26,060 --> 00:47:30,016
but actually really basic
at the same time.

722
00:47:32,048 --> 00:47:35,000
I mean, this is much more open,
of course, this side.

723
00:47:35,000 --> 00:47:37,076
I mean, it faces the view,
the light...

724
00:47:37,076 --> 00:47:39,096
It's away from the road.

725
00:47:43,048 --> 00:47:47,084
Now it makes sense that it's
for three different families.

726
00:47:47,084 --> 00:47:50,028
Each family, each sister...

727
00:47:50,028 --> 00:47:55,028
Yeah...has her own sort
of dining area out in the sun.

728
00:47:55,028 --> 00:47:58,092
Each family has their
own little courtyard

729
00:47:58,092 --> 00:48:02,068
outside what looks like maybe
their sitting room or something.

730
00:48:02,068 --> 00:48:07,024
They all seem to have a little place
to go and eat and relax in the sun.

731
00:48:07,024 --> 00:48:09,084
This is the living side
of the house, I suppose.

732
00:48:09,084 --> 00:48:11,096
The building blocks are very simple.

733
00:48:11,096 --> 00:48:14,052
I mean, they're all mono pitches,
all have single pitches.

734
00:48:14,052 --> 00:48:16,092
There is no complexity
in the building blocks,

735
00:48:16,092 --> 00:48:19,020
but the way they're put together
makes the spaces.

736
00:48:19,020 --> 00:48:21,040
Can you tell from here, Piers,

737
00:48:21,040 --> 00:48:25,068
can you tell if they are all almost
identical little houses,

738
00:48:25,068 --> 00:48:27,040
or are they different?

739
00:48:27,040 --> 00:48:30,040
They are identical,
but one is flipped.

740
00:48:30,040 --> 00:48:32,092
But you don't get a sense
of the repetition, do you?

741
00:48:32,092 --> 00:48:35,012
Because they look different,
the way they're placed.

742
00:48:38,048 --> 00:48:40,024
A more conventional arrangement

743
00:48:40,024 --> 00:48:42,076
would have been to set the houses
in a simple row.

744
00:48:44,024 --> 00:48:45,076
But by creating a courtyard,

745
00:48:45,076 --> 00:48:49,000
there's always a shady retreat
from the desert temperatures.

746
00:48:51,028 --> 00:48:53,088
All three houses have a private
outside space

747
00:48:53,088 --> 00:48:57,024
and a roof terrace off
the master bedroom upstairs.

748
00:48:59,032 --> 00:49:02,084
Downstairs, the layouts are similar,
with a kitchen dining room,

749
00:49:02,084 --> 00:49:05,020
living room and two bedrooms.

750
00:49:06,044 --> 00:49:09,036
All are clad in local
rough sawn pine,

751
00:49:09,036 --> 00:49:12,032
which helps it blend in
with the colours of the landscape.

752
00:49:19,028 --> 00:49:21,048
This is a timber building
on the outside,

753
00:49:21,048 --> 00:49:25,036
and what's interesting is that
timber isn't the Spanish way.

754
00:49:25,036 --> 00:49:27,092
They don't really make timber-frame
buildings.

755
00:49:27,092 --> 00:49:30,060
So, of course, on the inside,
it's all masonry.

756
00:49:30,060 --> 00:49:32,036
The structure is masonry.

757
00:49:32,036 --> 00:49:34,024
And it's actually really beautiful,

758
00:49:34,024 --> 00:49:37,076
because it's made in a very
rudimentary way.

759
00:49:37,076 --> 00:49:39,028
This is really ordinary stuff.

760
00:49:39,028 --> 00:49:40,096
This is the Spanish vernacular,

761
00:49:40,096 --> 00:49:46,068
which is a concrete frame and a beam
and block floor for the first floor.

762
00:49:46,068 --> 00:49:49,016
And actually that is how they make

763
00:49:49,016 --> 00:49:52,016
the most ordinary domestic
buildings.

764
00:49:52,016 --> 00:49:54,076
But there's no attempt
to soften it, to cover it up,

765
00:49:54,076 --> 00:49:56,088
to make it into something more
refined,

766
00:49:56,088 --> 00:50:00,036
because the virtue of this building
is that it's really ordinary,

767
00:50:00,036 --> 00:50:02,052
and any contractor around here could
make it

768
00:50:02,052 --> 00:50:04,048
out of the stuff they already have

769
00:50:04,048 --> 00:50:06,096
using techniques
that they already know.

770
00:50:06,096 --> 00:50:10,048
And I think that is its beauty.
It's really down to earth.

771
00:50:15,020 --> 00:50:18,024
One of the things I really love
about this,

772
00:50:18,024 --> 00:50:21,008
the first of the houses
that I've seen,

773
00:50:21,008 --> 00:50:23,076
is that there is nothing precious
about it at all.

774
00:50:23,076 --> 00:50:26,024
This is a house where
people really live.

775
00:50:29,024 --> 00:50:33,012
It was important to the sisters
that they each have a private home.

776
00:50:33,012 --> 00:50:37,004
A lovely little girl's bedroom.

777
00:50:39,008 --> 00:50:41,024
The women jointly run a successful

778
00:50:41,024 --> 00:50:43,072
fashion business together
in the city.

779
00:50:43,072 --> 00:50:47,096
Here they retreat, each to their own
personalised living space.

780
00:50:54,036 --> 00:50:57,032
They're protected from
their other sisters'

781
00:50:57,032 --> 00:51:00,064
sort of eating area or patio,
whatever you want to call it,

782
00:51:00,064 --> 00:51:06,028
and then they get their own stretch
of this fantastic mountain scape,

783
00:51:06,028 --> 00:51:09,020
just to spend time with their little

784
00:51:09,020 --> 00:51:12,080
bit of a family,
with their children.

785
00:51:18,016 --> 00:51:20,024
What have you found?

786
00:51:20,024 --> 00:51:22,032
What I've found
is the village square.

787
00:51:22,032 --> 00:51:25,004
I mean, here we are standing
in that square that...

788
00:51:25,004 --> 00:51:27,000
Indeed...is in a way
the most important space

789
00:51:27,000 --> 00:51:28,040
in a village, isn't it?

790
00:51:28,040 --> 00:51:32,000
And this is where, I suppose,
here, but also in those villages,

791
00:51:32,000 --> 00:51:34,008
people come to eat, greet,
meet, drink.

792
00:51:34,008 --> 00:51:37,016
And also here I feel that you're
protected from the mountains

793
00:51:37,016 --> 00:51:39,040
and the wind that must rattle
through here on occasion.

794
00:51:39,040 --> 00:51:41,032
Absolutely. And the kids will be
playing here,

795
00:51:41,032 --> 00:51:43,060
the dogs will be sleeping in the
sun, snapping at flies.

796
00:51:43,060 --> 00:51:46,048
I mean, it's great, isn't it?
Peeling potatoes for, you know...

797
00:51:46,048 --> 00:51:49,036
The dogs won't be doing that, but
the people who live here will be

798
00:51:49,036 --> 00:51:51,016
peeling potatoes for evening dinner.

799
00:51:51,016 --> 00:51:54,008
I mean, it's great, isn't it?
I love it.

800
00:51:54,008 --> 00:51:56,096
Later, the courtyard will be full
of friends and family.

801
00:51:59,000 --> 00:52:02,000
But there's time for a local tipple
with the three sisters.

802
00:52:03,024 --> 00:52:07,020
Maria Angeles, Rene and Manuca.

803
00:52:07,020 --> 00:52:11,012
Why particularly did you build your
house here on this piece of land?

804
00:52:11,012 --> 00:52:14,048
My father has some land here,

805
00:52:14,048 --> 00:52:18,072
and then we decided
to build a house.

806
00:52:18,072 --> 00:52:20,008
I always said,

807
00:52:20,008 --> 00:52:22,064
"In this piece of land, we will
build a house in the future."

808
00:52:22,064 --> 00:52:24,096
Even when you were little, you said
that?

809
00:52:24,096 --> 00:52:28,044
Yes. I mean, I don't know why,
but we had this dream.

810
00:52:28,044 --> 00:52:31,060
And five years ago or six years ago,

811
00:52:31,060 --> 00:52:35,044
we decided to build,
to build the dream.

812
00:52:35,044 --> 00:52:37,064
Did you... Was it your dream,
too, Rene?

813
00:52:37,064 --> 00:52:41,096
Was that your dream?Yes, yes.
Because we spent our summer holidays

814
00:52:41,096 --> 00:52:45,060
very close to here
where our grandparents were.

815
00:52:45,060 --> 00:52:49,044
And we were together in a very big
house with all our cousins.

816
00:52:49,044 --> 00:52:52,008
We were around 20 cousins.

817
00:52:52,008 --> 00:52:54,056
How fantastic. My father...
With only one bathroom.

818
00:52:54,056 --> 00:52:56,028
With only one bathroom.

819
00:52:56,028 --> 00:52:59,092
My father was... There were seven
brothers and sisters,

820
00:52:59,092 --> 00:53:03,052
and we were grown like savage
people.

821
00:53:03,052 --> 00:53:08,016
All together and going to the river
to have a bath, and we said

822
00:53:08,016 --> 00:53:11,016
we want our kids to do the same.

823
00:53:11,016 --> 00:53:14,056
To grow together, love walking,
love picking...

824
00:53:14,056 --> 00:53:15,092
With more toilets.

825
00:53:15,092 --> 00:53:17,092
With more toilets.

826
00:53:17,092 --> 00:53:21,004
So how many toilets have you got
now?We have got six toilets.

827
00:53:21,004 --> 00:53:22,052
Six toilets.

828
00:53:22,052 --> 00:53:25,024
Was there ever a moment when you
thought...

829
00:53:25,024 --> 00:53:26,060
Maria, did you ever think,

830
00:53:26,060 --> 00:53:29,008
"I don't want to live with my
sisters all the time.

831
00:53:29,008 --> 00:53:30,052
"I'll live on my own?"

832
00:53:30,052 --> 00:53:32,088
Yes. But then, we are very practical

833
00:53:32,088 --> 00:53:36,068
and then we decided to
make with the architect,

834
00:53:36,068 --> 00:53:39,044
you know, the shape of these houses.

835
00:53:39,044 --> 00:53:41,028
But we have, you know,

836
00:53:41,028 --> 00:53:46,080
we have our door and also
we have the outside as a space.

837
00:53:46,080 --> 00:53:48,096
They are private.

838
00:53:48,096 --> 00:53:51,024
Private.You don't see another one.

839
00:53:51,024 --> 00:53:54,044
No, I've noticed that.
You can't see your sisters.

840
00:53:54,044 --> 00:53:57,032
Who has the best house?

841
00:53:58,096 --> 00:54:01,004
They are the same.
For me, it's mine.

842
00:54:01,004 --> 00:54:04,020
For her, it's...
For me, it's mine.Yes.

843
00:54:04,020 --> 00:54:06,020
You have a wonderful life here.

844
00:54:06,020 --> 00:54:09,052
Salud.Salud.
Don't you? Salud.

845
00:54:09,052 --> 00:54:11,036
Salud, darling, thank you.

846
00:54:14,024 --> 00:54:16,084
Oh!Yeah, it's very good.

847
00:54:18,068 --> 00:54:22,024
It's obvious the sisters are really
happy with the layout.

848
00:54:22,024 --> 00:54:25,084
The architects rose to the challenge
in a very creative way,

849
00:54:25,084 --> 00:54:29,012
and I want to find out how they went
about the process of responding to a

850
00:54:29,012 --> 00:54:30,096
really complex brief.

851
00:54:32,012 --> 00:54:37,004
There's a very nice balance
between the private space,

852
00:54:37,004 --> 00:54:41,048
but also the communal space,
the other side, the village square.

853
00:54:41,048 --> 00:54:43,024
Yeah.You know, that...

854
00:54:43,024 --> 00:54:46,032
With the kitchen looking
at the common space.

855
00:54:46,032 --> 00:54:50,008
Yeah.We researched about cortijos,

856
00:54:50,008 --> 00:54:54,040
which is the Spanish word
for these rural houses,

857
00:54:54,040 --> 00:54:58,064
and we tried to translate
something of this

858
00:54:58,064 --> 00:55:01,060
way of living to this house.

859
00:55:01,060 --> 00:55:04,028
And these traditional houses

860
00:55:04,028 --> 00:55:07,068
always have a courtyard
in the centre,

861
00:55:07,068 --> 00:55:11,028
and all the houses look
at this courtyard.

862
00:55:13,048 --> 00:55:16,072
So this surely is the essence
of this house,

863
00:55:16,072 --> 00:55:18,044
hearing kids' voices and

864
00:55:18,044 --> 00:55:21,040
hearing the sort of freedom
that they have,

865
00:55:21,040 --> 00:55:23,064
because in a lot of contemporary
houses

866
00:55:23,064 --> 00:55:25,040
things are fairly controlled.

867
00:55:25,040 --> 00:55:28,056
And almost to the point where,
in some houses,

868
00:55:28,056 --> 00:55:30,012
furniture is screwed down

869
00:55:30,012 --> 00:55:32,060
and children are on
their best behaviour.

870
00:55:32,060 --> 00:55:35,052
But not here.No.
Not at all, not at all.

871
00:55:35,052 --> 00:55:37,096
Maybe it's a kind of philosophy,

872
00:55:37,096 --> 00:55:40,068
so the house is for them.
It's not...

873
00:55:40,068 --> 00:55:43,032
And it's for life, and
life is not...

874
00:55:43,032 --> 00:55:47,072
I can imagine that as this family
grows up

875
00:55:47,072 --> 00:55:50,044
and they have grandchildren,

876
00:55:50,044 --> 00:55:53,000
and you can imagine that they extend
another one

877
00:55:53,000 --> 00:55:54,068
and they make another one and...

878
00:55:54,068 --> 00:55:56,076
Yeah. Why not? Why not?
It's no problem.

879
00:56:01,044 --> 00:56:05,008
Simple, rustic design.

880
00:56:05,008 --> 00:56:07,084
Hi! Hi!

881
00:56:07,084 --> 00:56:10,028
To give these fabulous women
what they love...

882
00:56:11,052 --> 00:56:13,060
..quality family time.

883
00:56:13,060 --> 00:56:16,044
LIVELY CHATTER

884
00:56:31,028 --> 00:56:35,008
For me, this is what architecture
is all about.

885
00:56:35,008 --> 00:56:39,052
About creating a place for family,
for friends, to spend time together.

886
00:56:39,052 --> 00:56:40,088
Do you feel that?I do.

887
00:56:40,088 --> 00:56:43,028
I mean, I think architecture that
doesn't have people in it

888
00:56:43,028 --> 00:56:45,040
isn't really architecture.
You know, it's just...

889
00:56:45,040 --> 00:56:47,040
Buildings...static buildings.

890
00:56:47,040 --> 00:56:50,036
Yeah.But I think that, you know,
for people to be able to use

891
00:56:50,036 --> 00:56:52,040
buildings in such an un-precious
way,

892
00:56:52,040 --> 00:56:54,072
with kids running around,
with things everywhere,

893
00:56:54,072 --> 00:56:57,016
that's perfect, really.
Do you think of it as one house?

894
00:56:57,016 --> 00:57:00,076
Do you call it one house? This?
In reality, they are three houses.

895
00:57:00,076 --> 00:57:02,048
One, two, three. But...

896
00:57:02,048 --> 00:57:03,076
It's still one house.

897
00:57:03,076 --> 00:57:07,000
One house, three house...
One house, three sisters.

898
00:57:07,000 --> 00:57:09,060
Thank you so much for having us
here.

899
00:57:09,060 --> 00:57:12,088
Thank you for coming.
Lovely to meet you. Thank you.

900
00:57:12,088 --> 00:57:15,028
ALL: Salud.

901
00:57:19,020 --> 00:57:21,088
And the architects, we should drink
to the architects as well,

902
00:57:21,088 --> 00:57:24,096
who made this place.
No, not the architects! No!

903
00:57:24,096 --> 00:57:27,024
Oh, OK.

904
00:57:28,068 --> 00:57:33,000
Our Spanish architectural adventure
has been a revelation.

905
00:57:33,000 --> 00:57:36,096
We've seen some extraordinary
experimental homes.

906
00:57:36,096 --> 00:57:41,012
From a high-art masterpiece
that speaks to the landscape,

907
00:57:41,012 --> 00:57:45,008
to an heroic suburban family home.

908
00:57:45,008 --> 00:57:48,020
In many ways, we've even seen
the future.

909
00:57:48,020 --> 00:57:50,056
This country can be daring
and brave,

910
00:57:50,056 --> 00:57:52,036
but perhaps most excitingly,

911
00:57:52,036 --> 00:57:55,036
it's pushing the boundaries
of architecture.

912
00:58:02,056 --> 00:58:04,060
Next time, we're in India...

913
00:58:04,060 --> 00:58:07,000
Did you ever want to be made
into a sandwich?

914
00:58:07,000 --> 00:58:10,064
..where a new generation
of architects are running wild...

915
00:58:10,064 --> 00:58:12,072
It became a little bit like jazz,

916
00:58:12,072 --> 00:58:15,040
where you kind of improvise
a little bit.

917
00:58:15,040 --> 00:58:19,016
..drawing on the past to create
daring modern houses...

918
00:58:19,016 --> 00:58:22,052
Look! I'm dumbstruck.

919
00:58:22,052 --> 00:58:25,004
..in dramatic landscapes,

920
00:58:25,004 --> 00:58:29,096
as once again we go in search of the
world's most extraordinary homes.