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Exterior View
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Window Detail
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Texture Detail
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Interior View
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Interior View
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Building Process
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Plan View
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Section
The Truffle
Ensamble Estudio. Cabana de Bergantiños, Spain
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Name of work in English
The Truffle
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Name of work in original language
La Trufa
Prize year
EUmies Awards 2011
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Work Location
Cabana de Bergantiños, Spain
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Studio
Ensamble Estudio
EUmies Awards 2011 Shortlisted
Collaborators
Quantity surveyor: Javier Cuesta; Architect: Ricardo Sanz
Program
Single house
Completion
2010
The Truffle is a small cabin on the Galician coast that has been conceived as a piece of nature built with earth, blending in with the territory. By emulating the processes of mineral formation in its structure, the cabin integrates with the natural environment, complying with its laws. A hole was made in the ground and to construct the volume, this 'mould' was filled with bales of hay. Afterwards the hole was flooded with concrete, which was then covered with earth. Over time, the earth was removed and an amorphous mass was uncovered. A calf named Pauline was brought on site and for a year she ate the compressed hay, and once she had finished, the interior volume appeared. The 'cabanon' of Le Corbusier was a reference, inspiring the design of the interior elements that provided the comfort and conditions for living that were needed for this space for contemplation, where the horizon of the Atlantic Ocean is the only tense line.