Dezeen Magazine

Casa Moliner by Alberto Campo Baeza

High concrete walls enclose a secret garden around this residence for a poet in Zaragoza - our second story this week from Spanish architect Alberto Campo Baeza.

Casa Moliner by Alberto Campo Baeza

Casa Moliner was designed by Alberto Campo Baeza as an introverted enclosure, with a clean white house surrounded by newly planted trees and a calming pool of water. Two-metre-high walls surround the site on every side, blocking views out as well as in.

Casa Moliner by Alberto Campo Baeza

"We raised high walls to create a box open to the sky, like a nude metaphysical garden with concrete walls and floor," said the architect.

Casa Moliner by Alberto Campo Baeza

The three-storey house has two levels above ground, while a third floor is buried below the courtyard with sunken patios on each side. A staircase spirals up through the centre of the plan like a circular spine.

Casa Moliner by Alberto Campo Baeza

A library occupies the uppermost floor, creating a place for the poet to work. A wall of translucent glazing brings diffused light through the room, while a narrow window frames a single view across the neighbourhood.

Casa Moliner by Alberto Campo Baeza

"For dreaming, we created a cloud at the highest point," said Campo Baeza, "with northern light for reading and writing, thinking and feeling."

Casa Moliner by Alberto Campo Baeza

A single room on the ground floor forms a large living and dining area that opens out to the surrounding garden, while bedrooms and bathrooms are located downstairs.

Casa Moliner by Alberto Campo Baeza

Our first story this week about Campo Baeza featured a bulky concrete house on a hilltop in Toledo.

Casa Moliner by Alberto Campo Baeza

See more architecture by Alberto Campo Baeza »
See more houses in Spain »

Casa Moliner by Alberto Campo Baeza

Photography is by Javier Callejas.

Casa Moliner by Alberto Campo Baeza

Read on for a project description from Alberto Campo Baeza:


Moliner House, Zaragoza

To build a house for a poet. To make a house for dreaming, living and dying. A house in which to read, to write and to think.

Casa Moliner by Alberto Campo Baeza

We raised high walls to create a box open to the sky, like a nude, metaphysical garden, with concrete walls and floor. To create an interior world. We dug into the ground to plant leafy trees.

Casa Moliner by Alberto Campo Baeza

And floating in the centre, a box filled with the translucent light of the north. Three levels were established. The highest for dreaming. The garden level for living. The deepest level for sleeping.

Casa Moliner by Alberto Campo Baeza
Axonometric diagram one

For dreaming, we created a cloud at the highest point. A library constructed with high walls of light diffused through large translucent glass. With northern light for reading and writing, thinking and feeling.

Casa Moliner by Alberto Campo Baeza
Axonometric diagram two

For living, the garden with southern light, sunlight. A space that is all garden, with transparent walls that bring together inside and outside.

Casa Moliner by Alberto Campo Baeza
First floor plan

And for sleeping, perhaps dying, the deepest level. The bedrooms below, as if in a cave. Once again, the cave and the cabin. Dreaming, living, dying. The house of the poet.

Casa Moliner by Alberto Campo Baeza
Ground floor plan

Location: Avda. Ilustración, 40, Urbanización Montecanal, Zaragoza
Client: Luis Moliner Lorente
Surface area: 216 sqm

Casa Moliner by Alberto Campo Baeza
Basement plan

Architect: Alberto Campo Baeza
Collaborating architects: Ignacio Aguirre López, Emilio Delgado Martos
Structure: María Concepción Pérez Gutiérrez
Rigger: José Miguel Moya
Constructor: Construcciones Moya Valero, Rafael Moya, Ramón Moya

Casa Moliner by Alberto Campo Baeza
Long section