Dezeen Magazine

Mesura adds red brick extension with scalloped roofline to Alicante residence

Curving vaults create a scalloped roofline for this red brick house extension completed by Barcelona studio Mesura in Alicante, Spain (+ slideshow).

IV House by Mesura

Photographer Eduardo Iborra Wicksteed and his wife Belinda asked Mesura to extend their home, named IV House, which is located in the countryside outside the city of Elche.

IV House by Mesura

The area's hot and humid climate led the architects to design a long brick extension with a vaulted roof, which extends over a new lounge and bedroom, as well as a patio, to create shade.

IV House by Mesura

"The site consists of an existing home in the centre of the field, leaving undefined surroundings: bad quality spaces and no exterior-interior relationship," the architects told Dezeen.

"A new space, sheltered under a vaulted mantle gives new life to this house."

IV House by Mesura

Broad semi-circular windows set between the extension's scalloped roof and red brick walls bring daylight into the spaces within, which feature sections of exposed brickwork, glossy ceramic floor tiles and white-painted walls.

IV House by Mesura

Each of the four curving vaults covers a different part of the extension. The aim was to break down the hierarchy between interior and exterior spaces by giving equal importance to each part of the plan.

IV House by Mesura

"The intention is to separate the lived spaces of intimate spaces in relation to the climate, solar orientation, visual, topography and vegetation," explained the architects.

IV House by Mesura

A bedroom with a free-standing bath overlooks a private courtyard by the property's tennis court at one end of the extension. Its sliding glass doors are protected from view by perforated brick screens.

IV House by Mesura

The glazed lounge opens onto the patio at the opposite end of the block, where the upper branches of an existing tree extend through a gap in the curving roofline.

IV House by Mesura

The two parts of the building are separated by a bathroom block, and linked by a narrow corridor to the existing house, where there are three further bedrooms and a large kitchen.

Photography is by Pedro Pegenaute.

IV House by Mesura
Site plan – click for larger image
IV House by Mesura
Plan – click for larger image
IV House by Mesura
Concept section – click for larger image
IV House by Mesura
Detailed section – click for larger image