Ignacio de la Vega and Pilar Cano-Lasso were not planning on designing the home that they did. “The idea before buying the land was for a more traditional, very introverted, South-of-Spain-style house with massive walls around a patio,” recalls Ignacio. “But then we found this site and it made no sense to do that.”

Architect couple Ignacio de la Vega and Pilar Cano-Lasso designed their home on the outskirts of Madrid using their firm’s system of modular steel-framed units. This metal and wood gate keeps the residence closed off from the street." layout="wide" credit="Photo by Paco Marín" photoUserId=""/>

The sloping land the architect couple found is nestled on the outskirts of Madrid, filled with pine and oak trees. Immediately, they knew it was special, an environment they wanted to respect and enhance, they say, that dictated a completely different kind of home than the one they initially envisioned: something small, site sensitive, and simple. These principles jived more with their core design ethos, anyway. The couple, founders of Madrid firm, Delavegacanolasso, pride themselves on compact, modular homes that easily adapt to a site.

Pilar and Ignacio describe the area as quiet and not particularly popular, but that wasn’t a problem for them. “We can work from home, so we didn’t mind being a bit far away [from the city],” explains Ignacio. “And we didn’t want to see any buildings from the house. We wanted to just [be in] nature.”

The home comprises pieced-together modules produced by Ignacio and Pilar’s prefab business, Tini." layout="wide" credit="Photo by Paco Marín" photoUserId=""/>

A design for the home and accompanying office quickly came to fruition over three months spent at the property observing the elements and picnicking on what is now the terrace. “We came to know all the conditions, the orientation, how the sun comes and goes. It’s all a very important part of the design,” says Pilar.

The construction was completed in a relatively quick seven months, a process that combined traditional methods with a system the firm developed for its modular home company, Tini. The system emphasizes affordability and sustainability, allowing for modular steel structures to be configured into a floor plan before being fixed with windows and clad with wood or other finish materials. “The essence of this design is that mix of both kinds of construction,” says Pilar. The standalone office, where the couple now run their firm, is a single Tini unit. The main living home combines Tini units with a patio addition, also framed with steel.

€35,000 Foundations & Supplies	€75,000 Steel Structure, Envelope, Insulation & Waterproofing	€18,000 Wood Facades
€27,000 Wood Interiors	€18,000 Stone Flooring	€30,000 Windows & Glazing
€18,000 Heating and Cooling Aero Thermal System	€8,000 Solar Panels & Installation	€1,500 Stove
€15,000 Kitchen	€18,000 Bathrooms	€30,000 Built-In Wardrobes & Cabinets
€4,000 Other Furniture	€20,000 Street Facade & Garage	€6,000 Landscape & Access
Grand Total: €323,500

At 1,636 square feet, the home’s simple plan and smallish footprint are meant to keep the focus on the environment. Ignacio and Pilar relied on large glass sliders, clerestories, skylights, and views out to the surrounding treetops to make the residence feel big. “The idea for the living area was similar to a porch,” explains Ignacio. “When we open everything, it’s like being outside.”

The couple, who are avid gardeners, agreed that preserving the terrain was a priority, including all of the trees on the site. “Nowadays it’s very common to tear everything down, build a house, and then build a garden. It’s artificial,” explains Ignacio. The resulting home begins at grade and then hovers over the landscape as the terrain slopes downward thanks to a cable-stayed cantilever.

The living room is accented with wall shelves from TEEbooks and a Moon lamp by Verner Panton for Louis Poulsen." layout="bleed" credit="Photo by Paco Marín" photoUserId=""/>

Conventional sustainability measures like rooftop solar panels and thermal insulation enhance the building’s efficiency. The pond, dotted with water lilies, is filled with rainwater collected by the roof. While these augment the home’s performance, it’s the ethos underpinning the design that’s most salient: “We believe more in natural systems than in sophisticated ones that we [as a society] are obsessed with implementing in our homes. The more naturally you construct and live, the more sustainable you are,” says Pilar.

It was important to the pair that their office be independent from their living space, they say. The studio “leans” in relation to the house, an orientation chosen to preserve the existing trees. The separation of spaces gives Pilar and Ignacio the opportunity for a ritual only this kind of place can provide: a morning walk through their garden, where they’ve planted strawberries, citrus, and fig trees, before starting the day’s work.

More from Delavegacanolasso:

A Prefab Office Adds Rugged Good Looks to a Backyard in Madrid for $68K

Budget Breakdown: An Art Studio Is Transformed Into a Lush Garden Home for $24K

Project Credits:

Architect of Record: Delavegacanolasso / @delavegacanolasso

Builder/General Contractor: Tini / @tini.living

Structural Engineer: Álvaro Perez Garay