In considering the study of physical phenomena,
not only in their connections with the needs of life,
but in their influence on intellectual advancement,
we find his greatest achievement, noble and crucial:
It is the knowledge of the chain of connections
that links all the forces of nature,
making them mutually dependent,
which elevates our gaze and enriches our delights.
But such a result is only obtained
as a fruit of observation and intellect,
joined with the spirit of the age,
that reflects diverse phases of thought.
— Alexander von Humboldt, Kosmos
South of the Sierra de Madrid, among forests, the lake, and the Manzanares River, we find a place to be explored and discovered as a home through architecture. A path is drawn that connects and studies both nature and human intervention—a constructed route that culminates in Humboldt’s inhabited library.
The house for Humboldt arises from the ambition to connect with and become part of pre-existing networks. Drawing from the figure of Humboldt—precise scientist, explorer, and romantic—the architectural intent is to integrate into the existing fabric and establish a new network of connections with both the surrounding spaces and the nature he studies.
Al sur de la Sierra de Madrid, entre bosques, el lago, y el río Manzanares, encontramos un lugar por explorar y descubrir como hogar a través de una arquitectura. Se dibuja un camino que conecta y estudia la naturaleza y la obra humana, un camino construído que culmina con la biblioteca habitada de Humboldt.
La casa para Humboldt surge de la ambición de conectarse y sumarse a unas redes preexistentes. A partir de la figura del personaje, científico preciso, explrador y romántico, la ambición de la arquitectura es sumarse al conjunto y establecer una nueva red de conexión con espacios preexistentes y con la naturaleza que estudia.
The project begins along the path that connects this network. Routes and connections offer different ways of studying and understanding nature and place. In this way, architecture becomes part of a larger natural system, ranging from the immediate trees to the Sierra de Madrid. This relationship may be physical and measurable, or based on distant observation.
El proyecto comienza en el camino que conecta la red. Los recorridos y las conexiones presentan distintas formas de estudiar y comprender una naturaleza y un lugar. De esta manera, la arquitectura pasa a formar parte de una naturaleza mayor, que va desde los árboles inmediatos hasta la Sierra de Madrid. La relación puede ser física y medible o a través de la observación en la distancia.
A holistic vision of superimposed layers emerges in the house, where, within a precise framework and a continuous space, the envelope filters light and establishes different relationships depending on the program. The house is not an immutable or static entity, but an organic development of its functions.
La visión holística de la superposición aparece en la casa en la que, dentro de una pauta precisa y un espacio continuo, la envolvente filtra la luz y establece distintas relaciones en función del programa. La casa no es una realidad inmutable o estanca, sino un desarrollo orgánico de sus funciones.
Architecture becomes part of the environment, part of the universe, connecting its inhabitants with the forest, the mountains, the clouds, and the stars. The inhabitants activate this path: they study and discover. It is they who, against this backdrop, uncover and give meaning to their own cosmos.
La arquitectura es parte del medio, parte del universo, pone en contacto a sus habitantes con el bosque, la Sierra, las nubes y las estrellas. Los habitantes activan este camino, estudian y descubren. Son ellos los que, en este telón de fondo, descubren y dan sentido a su cosmos.