The accommodation runs over two floors above ground, plus a fully buried basement. Downstairs, a 37.07 m\u00b2 living and dining room opens onto the porch, the terrace and the pool; alongside it, the kitchen, a 9.25 m\u00b2 study and a guest suite with its own bedroom and bathroom. Upstairs, the principal bedroom with dressing room and en-suite, and a 14.12 m\u00b2 covered terrace enclosed on two sides. An internal courtyard tempers the light through the day and helps cross-ventilation. That adds up to 135.83 m\u00b2 built above ground, 28.52 m\u00b2 of covered outdoor space and 16.73 m\u00b2 under pergola, with a 45.34 m\u00b2 pool and parking within the plot.<\/p>\n
From design to building permit<\/h2>\n
The basic design (proyecto b\u00e1sico<\/em>) was certified by the College of Architects of M\u00e1laga. The planning department issued an unfavourable report; we drew up a revised basic design, it was certified and the report turned favourable. The construction project (proyecto de ejecuci\u00f3n<\/em>) was certified next and reported on favourably, and the roads and works department (V\u00edas y Obras) did the same. Along the way the property\u2019s postal address changed, and we had to file a clarifying statement so that the project and the cadastre matched.<\/p>\n We mention it because it affects the schedule. On a detached house of this size, the permitting timetable weighs as much as the construction timetable, and it is better to put it on the table before starting than to justify it afterwards.<\/p>\n The first was to lower the house. With the setting-out already done, we shifted the volume and lowered the house by 50 cm, to level 91.70, to bring the distance to the private boundary to the 3.00 m required by the U-4 detached-housing rules of the Benalm\u00e1dena general plan (PGOU<\/em>). The side effect turned out better than the reason for it: lowering the house gained terrace area around the pool. The planned perimeter ramp was left out, the whole terrace came out on a single level with a planting bed, and the new change in level was absorbed by the vehicle entrance ramp, with the elevation of the boundary fence adjusted to suit. A surveyor set out the shift, and it is all recorded in the completion certificate (certificado final de obra<\/em>).<\/p>\n The second was the basement. In the basic design\u2019s schedule of areas it took up 41.23 m\u00b2. It ended up at 117.46 m\u00b2 built, with an open-plan storeroom of 101.67 m\u00b2 usable floor area. Because it is fully buried it does not count towards buildable floor area (edificabilidad<\/em>), so the house grew downwards without touching the plot\u2019s development rights or the volume you see from outside. It was handed over as a shell, in polished concrete and screeded render, and is reached only from within the plot by a ramp starting next to the property gate.<\/p>\n The fa\u00e7ade is a cavity wall insulated externally: 60 mm of extruded polystyrene, a half-brick outer leaf in perforated clay, a cavity and an inner leaf of double hollow brick. It is finished in cement render with masonry paint and ceramic cladding to the panels shown on the drawings, a continuous white finish with occasional timber elements. Windows are anthracite-grey anodised aluminium with 4-12-6+6 double glazing and solar control to the south and west elevations. The roof is an inverted flat roof with a PVC membrane and 40 mm of XPS. Inside, porcelain stoneware and plasterboard ceilings; outside, imprinted concrete and low-water Mediterranean planting. The structure is reinforced concrete \u2014 pad and strip footings, retaining walls and waffle slabs \u2014 on ground with an allowable bearing pressure of 2.9 kp\/cm\u00b2 from the geotechnical survey.<\/p>\n The house was built by the owner-developer: both the setting-out record and the completion certificate list the work as self-build (autoconstrucci\u00f3n<\/em>). That changes the role of the site management team: instead of coordinating a construction firm, it resolves the job decision by decision and visit by visit. Work finished on 21 June 2024, after twenty months. Works supervision and health and safety coordination were carried out by the building engineer (arquitecto t\u00e9cnico<\/em>) Jos\u00e9 Jim\u00e9nez de la Paz.<\/p>\n It ran without incident, and that is on record: the documents certified by the M\u00e1laga College of Building Engineers (COAAT) on 3 July 2024 state that the works were carried out without any need to make entries in the site instruction book (libro de \u00f3rdenes<\/em>) or the incident book. The completion certificate was signed on 21 June 2024 and certified by the College of Architects of M\u00e1laga on 9 July.<\/p>\nTwo decisions taken on site<\/h2>\n
Materials and construction<\/h2>\n
Gallery<\/h2>\n
![\"Exterior](\"https:\/\/www.klicarquitectos.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/casa-leala-vivienda-unifamiliar-arroyo-de-la-miel-benalmadena-infografia.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n![\"Ground](\"https:\/\/www.klicarquitectos.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Vivienda-La-Leala-06_Planta-baja-1_page-0001-scaled.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n<\/figure>\nTechnical data<\/h2>\n
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Other projects by Klic Arquitectos<\/h2>\n