Transformation of the Aberanga txikia farmhouse in Ziortza-Bolibar, Biscay
Selected in the XVII BEAU Spanish Architecture & Urbanism Biennial
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“…if we had but timber, stone, and lime, and a few cutting tools to make these common things not only shelter us from wind and weather, but also express the thoughts and aspirations that stir in us…”
“The past is not dead, it is living in us, and will be alive in the future which we are now helping to make”
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William Morris
This intervention, the transformation of a farmhouse to adapt it—at least partially—to current lifestyles and comfort standards, a common practice in our region, gives us another opportunity to reflect on time and its relationship to architectural processes and practice; also on eternally unfinished—unending—or constantly evolving projects, among which Basque farmhouses or baserris (literally “villages in the woods” in Basque) would constitute a canonical type. The successive transformations necessary for adapting these productive structures to each era leave the imprint of the people who inhabited them. And these imprints, as vestiges of time, allow us to reflect—in the words of art historian George Kubler—on the flow of time and space, and the place in which objects, in this case architectural ones, fit within a larger continuum. It also touches on the notion of things as part of time, on architecture as part of history and its fusion, or its coexisting temporalities in certain landscapes, objects, and buildings. All of this relates to what we call the different layers of a place’s history, of which our interventions ultimately become one more.
The most recent intervention at the Aberanga txikia farmhouse arose from the desire to halt the deterioration of this medium-sized family farmhouse, but of a relatively large footprint compared to current housing standards, which, despite its privileged location in the beautiful upper Zeinka Zearregi neighborhood of Ziortza Bolibar, had been undergoing a slow process of decay in recent times. From the modest starting point of a roof renovation to ensure the watertightness of the inhabited areas, the project evolved into the beginning of a transformation process intended to guarantee a new life cycle for Aberanga txikia and the relatively large community that inhabits it, hybridazing –programmatically- between the functions of main residence and secondary home, as well as between a productive house and a vacation home.
The project aims to transform a farmhouse while respecting its typological, volumetric, and formal characteristics, reinterpreting them in a simple and coherent way. Materials are chosen based on their structural function, avoiding decorative elements that merely imitate a particular architectural style, like a pastiche. The transformation involves once again addressing the challenge of integrating contemporary living styles into a traditional building that is properly integrated into its landscape and architectural context, both in terms of volume and the materials used for construction and finishing. This is a regulatory requirement in this type of setting: a rural area.
To achieve the objective of the correct transformation of the farmhouse, given its large built area, much larger than that required for the program requested by the owner, and given the intention of the owners to re-inhabit a bright, energy-efficient, sustainable home adapted to current hygrothermal and lighting comfort needs, which also allows for great permeability and openness to the surrounding nature, the project starts from a design premise, the emptying.
The farmhouse originally featured a thick dividing wall that split it in two, and a structural framework of large oak timber pieces supporting the various floors and the wooden roof. The front section, facing south, housed the living quarters, with a ground floor containing the kitchen and living area, a main floor for the living quarters, and a ventilated attic used for storing grain and straw. The rear section, with few openings to the outside, contained only uses related to its past agricultural production: a stable for livestock on the ground floor and a storage area and hayloft on the first floor and attic.
The strategy of emptying or creating a void embraces both the —volumetric and spatial—potential and the limitations of the building—pre-existing ceiling heights and small openings in the facade—and plays with them. It maintains the original spatial configurations of the farmhouse: the compartmentalized living area facing the main facade and the productive area with open spaces for the stable and barn. However, it does so by connecting these spaces through the creation of several interior light wells of varying sizes, which run through the farmhouse practically from the ground floor to the roof. Furthermore, a new large opening is created in the west facade, in the area of the stable, which was originally more deteriorated and of poorer construction, lacking windows. This opening aims to generate spaces that contribute to improving the habitability and spatial richness of the house, providing abundant light and covered outdoor spaces on both the ground and first floors. Specifically, a covered porch is created on the ground floor and an exterior viewpoint or protected terrace on the main floor, which is related to the new living space, the dining room, and the kitchen on that floor.
The project transforms the interior space without losing the essence of the existing areas. One of the guiding principles has been the preservation of the existing structural logic, striving to maintain the perception from within of all the farmhouse’s supporting elements that could be recovered. The greatest example of this is the large hall located on the first floor above the stable, characterized by a large structural “tree” that defines the space. This open-plan central space structures the entire farmhouse by incorporating part of the vertical circulation core and acting as a kind of hinge that connects all the building’s uses and spaces, from the living areas to what remains of the productive ones, expanding through the circulation elements, double-height spaces, and light wells. The area that housed the former dwelling is transformed into a large wooden box containing all the more private spaces—bedrooms, dressing rooms, and bathrooms—on both the first floor and the attic level, connected to the main living area by walkways that cross a large interior courtyard at different levels.
The unique configuration of the new communications, which starts from the pre-existing conditions by reusing a staircase already rebuilt in a previous intervention, wraps around the party wall and develops on both sides of it, generating new routes, views and connections between the two areas of the farmhouse, while allowing the filtered passage of light inside.
Regarding the intervention on the building envelope, despite the significant work on the west façade, the farmhouse maintains an image that respects the existing structure and local architecture. This is achieved through the use of gray, autoclave-treated wooden cladding that stands apart from the rest of the stone masonry, yet evokes other traditional architecture in the area through the choice of materials. The intervention is thus perfectly integrated into its rural surroundings, not appearing as an extraneous or discordant element in any way. Also noteworthy is the restoration of symmetry to the farmhouse’s main entrance, achieved by removing the only opening that did not correspond to the original construction. On the other façades, the original openings are retained, with only a few new ones added to meet the minimum ventilation and lighting requirements. Although these new openings are designed to be easily distinguishable from the original ones, they are perfectly integrated into the farmhouse’s traditional architecture.
Finally, it should be noted that the project also includes improving the farmhouse’s energy efficiency by implementing thermal insulation in the building envelope and using renewable energy sources for heating and cooling. Specifically, geothermal energy is used to power the underfloor heating system.
Although the original project envisioned a complete renovation of the ground floor, during the course of the intervention it was decided to maintain its original use, making it compatible with the new uses of the main floor, which had been adapted to current hygrothermal needs and living conditions. In this way, some characteristic elements of the farmhouse were recovered and preserved, such as the stone paving of the entrance hall and the access to the stable, which became the floor of the large interior courtyard, and the large stone-framed openings that connect it to the former stable area. In the latter, the feeding troughs were restored and part of the original reinforced structure was maintained, but a series of modifications were made that transformed it into a space of opportunity, allowing for multiple uses, including those linked to the farmhouse’s productive past, which, although diminished, remains partially active. The space is illuminated from above by skylights that pierce the floor of the upper hall and connects to a covered porch with large sliding panels of wood and polycarbonate.
The attic level is left unfinished and open, awaiting future interventions. This, combined with the rough, unfinished appearance of the ground floor spaces and the presence of salvaged elements, creates a sense of walking through the history of the farmhouse. Once inside, as one gradually ascends the reclaimed stairs, one has the feeling of moving forward in time, observing the unfolding of the different layers of history of the Aberanga txikia farmhouse before one’s eyes.
As has always happened in Basque farmhouses, the endless process of transformation and adaptation remains in suspense, awaiting future actions that will add new layers to the traces of its history.
