Settling down a modern community in an isolated hill with no Wi-Fi was the main challenge of AQUA. This project’s purpose is to refurbish a village that was abandoned due to the lack of resources the inhabitants had. The new village is designed to be a self-sufficient community, which consists of three acres of farmland, housing for one hundred residents, greenhouses, nursery school, warehouses and collective areas for communal services.
More than 900 m above the sea and forty kilometres northwest from Tarragona, La Mussara is waiting to receive a group of people who are looking for a more natural, yet still modern lifestyle.
The main concept behind the project is to take advantage of the existing natural resources. Since water scarcity was one of the reasons the village was abandoned, “AQUA” collects and transforms energy from the water, mainly. The architecture is arranged around a collection of devices, such as hydraulic turbines, fog catchers, water mills and rainwater collectors.
Following the sustainable principles, the materials used in the buildings are environmentally friendly. Local granite is used for the outside paving of the whole village. The houses are over a timber frame elevated by pillars, not damaging the natural ground. Glass and stone enclosures are used for the common buildings, which blend into the natural scenery. On the other hand, the machinery is built in stainless steel, creating a strong contrast to the settlements and old ruins.