Transform an old country orchard in the Spanish village of Ávila into a modern design house: Nogal is a single-family house designed to look like a huge rock, with a huge inertia present, but still harboring life. This true concept was developed in the canopy and environment of the majestic walnut tree, and the walnut tree is the center and soul of this project.
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Looking for inspiration

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Originating in Persia, deeply rooted, the shade is dense and long. The walnut tree may be a tree that cannot be overlooked and it is one of the kings of nature. Its fruits (walnuts), its profile and, in short, its striking characteristics make it a delicious reference tree: it must be ensured that it does not tolerate severe frosts, high temperatures and minimal rainfall for its full growth. This makes it very special to find a walnut tree with these characteristics.

In search of an intimate relationship with nature and to enhance the value of this centennial walnut tree, Raúl Almenara built this stone house, reminiscent of those rocks in the landscape, cast around this figure. Although Raúl Almenara will see all the features of this building, the designer can never talk about it without understanding the soul of the project, and nature and craftsmanship, sustainability, art and architecture are more intertwined than ever before. But this is not the only factor that attracts the attention of nature in the province of Ávila. In the early train journey, a strong contrast was observed on the plains, with the flat and barren terrain with some human-scale granite rocks supporting themselves as sculptures on them.
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The essence of the design
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The project is located in an ancient orchard completely related to nature, surrounded by granite walls, where walnut trees have always reigned here. It starts from respecting the location of the two elements of the trees and the walls and ends up integrating into the environment. The project was conceived as a large block of granite from the Avila Mountains, which transforms around the walnut tree in homage to the walnut tree. As a result, it turned into a huge curved stone solid, the interior of which was carved with the same stone to accommodate the space for family life.

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