Between Sea and Stone: Tiered Mediterranean House in Sa Riera
Between Sea and Stone sits on a steep hillside in Sa Riera, Spain, with long views to the Mediterranean. Designed by Pepe Gascón Arquitectura as a second residence, the house steps down in platforms that connect daily life to the slope. Four staggered levels organize summer routines, drawing light and breeze across rooms while keeping bedrooms tucked away. It reads as a measured descent, calibrated for mornings by the water and shaded afternoons.
Steps track the hillside. From the street, the house drops in measured platforms, each one trimming the view toward sea and pines while tightening the architecture’s grip.
This is a single-family house in Sa Riera, Spain, designed by Pepe Gascón Arquitectura as a seasonal home organized across four staggered levels. The guiding move is straightforward: the plan follows the terrain in descending bands that choreograph how one arrives, gathers, retreats, and plays.
Staggered Levels
Entry lands at the uppermost band. From here, circulation slips along the slope, connecting a compact sleeping volume, open living rooms, and the terraces below in a clear sequence. Each drop in level refines outlook and light, so the panorama broadens as the program becomes more communal, and the earth reads closer as the rooms grow more private.
Private Rooms Above
The sleeping area forms a tight volume with controlled openings. Windows angle views across greenery while preserving privacy from the street and neighboring plots. The master bedroom extends to a rear patio, trading spectacle for calm with a sheltered outdoor room that stretches morning routines and invites air without exposure. Quiet matters here.
Living to Terrace
One level down, kitchen, dining, and living align in continuity. Large apertures pull the entire floor toward a broad terrace and swimming pool, turning mealtime and lounging into a single indoor–outdoor band. The threshold reads thin, so circulation flows straight to the water’s edge, where the horizon sets the cadence of the day and the slope steadies the wind.
Below-Grade Retreats
Beneath the visible living level, a basement gathers leisure—games room, wine cellar, and TV lounge—without losing contact. Light wells and an English courtyard pull daylight deep inside, linking these rooms back to the upper levels with framed sky and planted edges. It’s a quieter stratum, tuned for shade and slower hours after the beach.
Stone Underfoot
Sant Vicenç stone ties the sequence together like a continuous ground. Cut to measure, it runs across interiors and terraces, reading as a mineral rug that guides movement and standardizes thresholds. Underfoot, texture cues the shift between bands—cooler inside, sun-warmed outside—so the route is legible even without doors. Material becomes wayfinding.
Afternoon light slips across the steps. From ridge to pool, the plan keeps time with the terrain, letting daily rituals settle into the hillside’s rhythm and the sea’s long glare.
Photography by Aitorestevez fotografía de arquitectura
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