The TNA studio village
The promoters of the project only houses They had a clear idea: from the union of architecture and landscape art can be born. And so it has been. Located on the edge of Ports Natural Park, in Matarraña (Teruel), this spectacular creation can boast of being the first collection of architecture in Europe.
Parisian gallery owners Eva Albarran and Christian Bourdais They have been dedicating themselves to their two great passions for more than fifteen years: architecture and contemporary art. In 2004, they founded Eva Albarran & Co. , which is currently **one of the three largest producers of contemporary art in France**.
Later, in 2012, they launched their big bet, Solo Houses, and in 2018 they opened their first gallery in Madrid .
Didier Faustino for Solo Houses
This initiative promises to immerse us in a unique experience through its fifteen villas and a hotel -the centerpiece of the project- , completely camouflaged with the environment.
Each of the houses has a unique design , fruit of the collaboration of twelve of the most innovative architecture studios in the world , to whom the gallery owners who devised only houses gave them absolute freedom to elaborate their proposals.
Combining architectural gems, works of art and trails drawn in harmony with the beauty of the Natural Park of the Ports of Beceit e has been the key to the success of Solo Houses, a work -still in development- carried out in collaboration with the Chilean architect Smiljan Radic ( hotel designer), the renowned artistic director Han Ulrich Obrist (in charge of the cultural program) and the landscaper Bas Smets.
Secondly, from May 24 , takes place on Solo Houses Summer Group Show , the first edition of an annual sample that it will last six months , during which national and international artists, with nature as a stage, present projects that challenge the perception of space.
This event aims to break with the limits of exhibiting in a conventional gallery, thus experimenting with the spectacular natural environment of Matarraña .
We can find works of land art like, for example, the huge fuchsia-colored mass, entitled **Kissing the void (2012)** , by Ugo Rondinone. Or creations as avant-garde as Animitas (2014) by Christian Boltanski , who has drawn his own soundscape with five hundred japanese bells suspended from thin metal rods.
Kissing the void (2012) by Ugo Rondinone
For your part Hector Zamora offers in _Truth Always Appears as Something Veiled (2017) _ a new perception between the hidden and the open. Inspired by an ancient drawing discovered in cnidus ( Turkey ) , the artist has created a brick maze drilled in Matarraña.
The rest of the artists who have left their creative mark on these Aragonese lands are Iván Argote, Barozzi Veiga, Peter Downsbrough, Olivier Mosset, Fernando Sánchez Castillo and Pezo Von Ellrichshausen.
Office KGDVS villa detail
THE VILLAGES
Crossing the borders that arise when raising walls, integrating the landscape in the work and the work in the landscape , has been the purpose of the architects who have been part of the project only houses , and a clear example of this is the circular house of the study Office KGDVS , which goes almost unnoticed.
Raffle the room with a view? Here that problem has no place, because each one of the rooms is a window open to the forest. In addition, in the patio, located in the heart of the property, they have created a pool that will finish conquering the residents.
But this construction has nothing to envy to the creation of Mauricio Pezo and Sofia Von Ellrichshausen , a wonderful viewpoint over the nature reserve. This residence, built as a platform to give its visitors the feeling of be suspended in the air , also has a patio with a swimming pool in the center of the house.
The work of Japanese architect Go Hasegawa
Of course, **Japanese architect Go Hasegawa** wins the award for one of the most impressive designs: a space merged with the forest and sheltered by the cliff , with a swimming pool that adapts to the orography of the land. And at the foot of it, the river. Wonderful!
As if it were a giant mushroom, Johnston Marklee's elevated circular construction it rises shyly over the plain, in harmony with the trees that surround it. Its large windows allow you to enjoy inspiring views at sunset.
And if the guest wants a dip, he only has to go down the stairs of the house to reach his private pool.
The acropolis of Barrozzi Veiga
Originality comes to life in the villa by **Japanese architect Fujimoto**: raw wood and an irregular framework that recreate a forest. Protected and at the same time open to the environment, this geometric work has a terrace on top that will become your favorite refuge. “Moving around the house is like climbing a tree” , says the architect.
Although a strong competitor is the creation of Didier Faustino , an irregular structure that seems to have been dropped from the sky over the Natural Park of Los Puertos de Beceite. The Infinite House , as it has been baptized by its maker, represents the center of the Big Bang, absorbing and returning light that penetrates her
Fujimoto's geometric forest
One of our favorites? The one from the Japanese architecture studio TNA , an imposing inverted concrete pyramid which has sunk its point into the ground. The light takes over each of its interior spaces, from which you will only want to leave to cool off in its beautiful pool.
A small acropolis on top of a hill, the work of Barozzi Veiga , which hides a cozy home under its structure; four “T” shaped blocks in an olive grove from the New York studio MOS Architects ; a structure that plays with the undulations of the studio SO-IL ; wave green house of the experimental architect Jean Pascal Flavien -which reinterprets the concept of sexuality playing with the water connections of the house , where we find “gogo showers”- are some of the remaining works.
To discover each of the villas and be aware of the new additions, visit the website of only houses . Or better yet, head to Matarraña .
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