{"id":13151,"date":"2026-04-07T12:50:33","date_gmt":"2026-04-07T10:50:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.klicarquitectos.com\/villa-rouse-en\/"},"modified":"2026-09-06T11:25:47","modified_gmt":"2026-09-06T09:25:47","slug":"villa-rouse-en","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.klicarquitectos.com\/en\/blog\/villa-rouse\/","title":{"rendered":"Villa Rouse \u00b7 Contemporary single-family home in Benahav\u00eds (M\u00e1laga)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Let the house step down with the ground rather than flatten it. Villa Rouse is a contemporary single-family home in Benahav\u00eds (M\u00e1laga), on a sloping plot between hills with open views towards the Mediterranean. The view was never the difficult part; getting to it without carving up the hillside was. Our approach at Klic Arquitectos<\/a>: stepped platforms that follow the natural profile, and a fa\u00e7ade that knows how to shade itself from the south-westerly sun.<\/p>\n

The site and its constraints<\/h2>\n

The plot falls away between hills. A slope like that leaves two options. Cut it back to a single level: simpler to build, and it shows later \u2014 in earthworks, in retaining structures, and in a house that reads from half a hillside away. Or spread the accommodation across several levels and keep the profile of the ground. We took the second option.<\/p>\n

The main aspect, south-southwest, delivered the views and created the opposite problem: direct sun on the best elevation during the worst hours of a Costa del Sol summer. Slope and south-westerly sun are the two facts the whole design is organised around.<\/p>\n

The proposal: stepping down instead of cutting back<\/h2>\n

The house is laid out as stepped platforms following the natural topography. On the main level, living room, dining area and kitchen run as a single open sequence onto the terraces and the pool. The bedrooms sit on separate levels, so each one takes its own view without being overlooked from the rest of the house.<\/p>\n

Stepping the plan is not a formal gesture. Splitting the accommodation across levels cuts the excavation and leaves the hillside broadly as it was. Pool, terraces and porches work in the same direction: they extend the house into the landscape and put the outdoor rooms in order \u2014 on this coast, that is where a good part of the year is spent.<\/p>\n

Materials, shade and thermal mass<\/h2>\n

The volume is white, pared back, with flat roofs and overhangs that shield the fa\u00e7ade from direct radiation. That overhang is the quiet piece of the design: it allows the living room to open to the south-west without turning into a glasshouse in July.<\/p>\n

The finishes follow the same reasoning: natural stone to the external paving, light-toned single-coat render on the fa\u00e7ades, engineered timber indoors and thermally broken aluminium frames. Cross-ventilation and a high-thermal-mass envelope do the rest. Mass, shade and a through breeze \u2014 how southern Spain built for centuries, well before mechanical cooling existed. None of it shows on a drawing. It is what decides the indoor temperature in August.<\/p>\n

Gallery<\/h2>\n
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\"Aerial
Villa Rouse \u00b7 Contemporary single-family home in Benahav\u00eds (M\u00e1laga). A site between hills with Mediterranean views.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n

Project data<\/h2>\n