MO House : living spaces among pine trees

MO House testifies one of those cases when the rule becomes the exception. In Madrid, Spain a single family house spreads all its energy through a dense green forest. An exquisite desire has lead to an astonishing volumetric result. All trees had to be preserved in their original position. Although the conventional domestic program, the site’s morphology demanded a compound geometry for the positioning of the house. The prevailing presence of trees and the deep wish to achieve an inhabitable space fully integrated with the woods resulted in a unique solution.

Spanish architectural firm FRPO, have devised a program that resulted in a very direct way to a number of simple rectangular volumes, each one with its own function. The multiple topological relations between these volumes determined a series of useful solutions, 24 in total. The configuration of the MO House was determined by relating voids with volumes and existing trees. Five bedrooms, one study room, kitchen, living and dining rooms are organically distributed between the trees; all connected by interstitial spaces – corridors – that often turn into an extension of one of the major volumes. However, a curious design decision turns MO House into an example of prefabrication and self-sustainable architecture: wood as the main constructive material contribute for an even more integrated solution. The proximity of trees required a non-aggressive foundation system, so galvanized steel micro piles were used with only 2 meters long.