Extrarradio Estudio . photos: © Asier Rua
Nestled within a meadow on the outskirts of a small village in the Sierra de Gredos, Prado Toro is born from the desire to disconnect, a deep immersion in nature, and a compulsive reading of Walden . This compact retreat is conceived as a sanctuary for summer and weekend escapes, offering an elemental yet profound living experience.
The project draws inspiration from the region’s traditional agricultural structures—small-scale, low-height buildings used for storing tools and livestock with minimal material investment. Prado Toro reimagines this archetype, expanding upon the notion of a rural outbuilding to accommodate modern needs.
However, rather than extending the footprint, the intervention unfolds vertically. A shell-like structure rises above the basic form, creating an open-plan, lofted interior that houses a living space, a compact kitchen, and a sleeping area. This new envelope is clad in ceramic tiles, a fundamental material in the traditional architecture of the Castilian highlands, ensuring protection against the region’s heavy rains and westerly winds. Inside, pinewood surfaces reinforce the typological purity of the cabin.
The service spaces—kitchen, bathroom, and an upper-level sleeping platform—are arranged as a freestanding volume at the core of the structure, deliberately detached from the outer walls. This preserves the sense of openness and accentuates the raw, monolithic presence of the tiled shell. The sleeping area’s placement in the upper section serves not only spatial but also thermal purposes: the central wood-burning fireplace heats the upper layers first, ensuring warmth during winter nights.
The structure also functions as a retaining wall. Embedded into the natural slope, the cabin defines an exterior terrace, an informal gathering space for warm summer evenings or crisp winter breakfasts. This semi-buried strategy enhances the building’s thermal performance, as three of its sides are naturally insulated by the earth.
Additionally, the embedded position diminishes its apparent scale, allowing the tiled shell to blend seamlessly into the landscape while remaining rooted in the region’s architectural language.
Positioned at the highest point of the meadow, the cabin captures unobstructed views of the Sierra, facing eastward towards a stream that marks the site’s boundary. The adjacent terrace serves as a threshold between the cabin and the community, fostering interaction with visitors and neighbors. Its east-west orientation ensures ample sunlight throughout the day, while openings on all four elevations enable cross-ventilation, allowing fresh mountain air to circulate freely during warmer months.
Prado Toro stands as a dialogue between tradition and contemporary living, a discreet yet expressive structure that embraces the rural landscape while reinterpreting its essence.
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