A Minimalist Home in Spain Is Designed to Capture the Warmth of the Sun

"Casa Banlusa was designed following bioclimatic concepts," says architect Sara Acebes Anta of her recently completed project, a minimalist family home on the outskirts of Valladolid, Spain.

Here, the temperature swing between day and night can be as great as 60ºF. To weather those extremes, Acebes built the home out of thermoclay, a material that accumulates heat during the day and releases it slowly at night. She also positioned the bedrooms on the west side of the home, "where the last rays of sun warm them before it’s time to sleep," she says.

Like the bedrooms, the rest of the roughly 2,200-square-foot, single-level plan is organized to respond to the times of day. The kitchen faces east to take in sunrise, while the living room faces west for sunset; a small island separates the two spaces. Down a hallway on the opposite end of the home are the bedrooms and two baths, and separating the public and private areas is an outdoor courtyard.