description

Impossible to define in a single word. This boutique residence, conceived by architect Toni Gironès in the heart of Alt Empordà, transcends the notion of dwelling: it is a living garden where contemporary architecture engages in quiet dialogue with Mediterranean tradition, ecological sensitivity, and the poetics of the landscape. Everything here breathes harmony — from the mineral silence of concrete to the warmth of chestnut wood and the scent of clay at dusk. This is not a house that dominates its surroundings; it rests upon them, embracing the terrain and merging with its light. Designed as a refuge of calm yet offering the potential for creativity and connection, this architectural masterpiece can be envisioned as a high-end boutique retreat, a private dream residence, or a contemporary co-living concept. With full permits already granted for tourist operation and an adjoining 850 m² urban plot ready for expansion, it perfectly balances beauty with viability, contemplation with profitability — a place where investment becomes legacy. A finalist in the Girona Architecture Awards, presented at the FAD Awards and other international exhibitions, and with its model on display at the Museum of Architecture in Madrid until May 2026, this creation stands as a rare celebration of the union between art and nature. Each room — immersive, precise, serene — opens onto a garden, a pool of water, or an ancient rock. The five guest suites, crafted from curved concrete cylinders lined with chestnut wood and clay, feature adjustable lighting, cross ventilation, and private terraces descending to a natural stone pool — a circular oasis of filtered water that mirrors the sky. At the heart of the residence, a generous living-dining area of over sixty square meters extends fluidly outdoors, linking the living modules through pathways that seem to float across the land. Surrounding it, a constellation of spaces evokes the Mediterranean art of living: an outdoor kitchen with a Moroccan oven and barbecue, a covered dining area for long gatherings, an open-air reading lounge, a panoramic viewpoint overlooking the Albera Natural Park, and an orchard of fruit trees — pomegranates, figs, kakis, plums, oranges — each one a fragment of the seasons. On the upper level, two multipurpose pavilions host creative studios, artist residencies, or wellness retreats, accompanied by a chill-out terrace suspended between the sky and the terraced fields. Every element here has been designed to reconcile the essential: earth and air, water and fire, intimacy and openness, life and its contemplation. More than a property, this is an experience — a way of understanding architecture as emotion, and investment as a gesture toward the future. A place where to inhabit is, quite simply, to belong again.