Casa El Naranjo: roots, memories and shared life

Casa El Naranjo: roots, memory and shared life

Architecture that embraces family reunion

Just a few kilometers from Seville, the town of Carrión de los Céspedes seems suspended in another time. Its white streets, the row of orange trees marking the rhythm of the asphalt, and the midday heat that brings everything to a standstill in summer paint a still scene, almost untouched since the 19th century. It is here that you'll find Casa El Naranjo, a traditional Andalusian house renovated by two sisters who are architects to become the place where their family, scattered across different parts of the world, reunites every summer.

The house, formerly fragmented and dilapidated, was completely renovated. While preserving its original structure, a new volume was added, redefining the spaces and creating a more open, serene, and fluid experience. The project was conceived as a meeting point: a space where generations, lifestyles, and cultural references converge. Every corner is designed to welcome. The ground floor revolves around the central courtyard, with a centuries-old orange tree that acts as an emotional and visual anchor. Around it, the living room, dining room, and kitchen flow seamlessly together, fostering a natural sense of community.
In this balance between the new and the old, the architects chose neutral materials and clean lines that allow contemporary design pieces to coexist with family artworks and objects salvaged from their former home in Milan. The result is a luminous and serene space, where the architecture recedes to give prominence to everyday life.

The kitchen, open to the patio, is the functional and emotional heart of all this activity. Designed with abstract volumes, hidden storage, and a large island accessible from all sides, it allows for spontaneous participation from all family members. While one person cooks, another sets the table; while they prepare ingredients, the children paint or explore. The island is more than just a surface: it's a stage for conversations, breakfasts, snacks, and impromptu workshops.

The Metal LAMINATE finishes in the kitchen and cabinets, with their black edges and almost sculptural appearance, lend a subtle materiality that contrasts with the mortar walls and the continuous cement floor. And in this way of life, cooking while gazing at the orange tree has become a kind of intimate, silent ritual.

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Casa El Naranjo wasn't conceived as a second home. It's a house to return to. An architecture that doesn't aspire to impress, but rather to hold warmth, conversation, pause, and memories. Every summer, the family reunites, and in that reunion, the house takes on new meaning.

Project:

Casa El Naranjo

Photographies:

Sergio Pradana