In the Catalonian province of Girona, in the comarca of Baix Empordà, a house amid sunflower fields is beset by strong Tramontana winds. The commission assigned to the firm Ágora Arquitectura – led by Joan Casals Pañella and Jose Luís Cisneros Bardolet, both Barcelona-born – required nestling it against the stone wall of a still-standing old masia. There is an 80-centimeter gap between the new construction and the old one. Crowned with reused tiles, the continuous shell of cross-laminated pine timber recomposes the ruin, clad in a mortar of thick sand. Built in 90 days, the 80-square-meter abode presents two rooms set parallel to the old wall. At the center of the house, an autonomous black box contains all the domestic services.

Fotografías cortesía de Ágora Arquitectura. Joan Casals Pañella