Amarillo or Casa 4 Estaciones by Churtichaga+Quadra-Salcedo

Spanish studio, Churtichaga+Quadra-Salcedo (ch+qs) designed the Casa 4 Estaciones four-season house based on engagement with the countryside. A house that tells a story, a tempting invitation to sit back and relax and enjoy what nature has to offer. 



Spanish architects Josemaría de Churtichaga and Cayetana de la Quadra-Salcedo from firm ch+qs are known for their design approach that focuses on architecture as the interface for sensory experiences, bing the tangible expression of the relationship between humans and their environment.





The Casa 4 Estaciones project is all about this fundamental connection between architecture, its users and the landscape, and it uses the colour yellow to tie it all together.





The architects mulled over this project for more than a decade, after they bought the plot of land in the countryside of Segovia, where, in their words “everything happens in yellow”. They observed nature through the changing seasons, with its different shades of yellow – yellow flowers in spring, yellow wheat in the yellow summer sun, yellow leaves in autumn and yellow lichen on tree trunks in winter – and came to the natural conclusion that yellow had to play a fundamental part in their house. 
 





The simple form of the building, wrapped in untreated wood will very quickly blend into the countryside, but it doesn't seek camouflage at any cost.  It is the culmination of a long-term study of the site and its small, cosy ambience responds to the natural harmony of the environment. The splashes of yellow on the front door and the chimney are almost a smile back at the natural yellows of the countryside, a celebration of nature and simplicity, portrayed in all its glory by photographer, Fernando Guerra.

(Christiane Bürklein)

Project: Josemaria de Churtichaga, Cayetana de la Quadra-Salcedo http://www.chqs.net/
Collaborator: Nathanael Lopez
Year: 2000-2011
Location: Berrocal, Segovia, Castilla y León (España)
Photographs: Fernando Guerra