House in Vallvidrera, Barcelona

On the hills surrounding Barcelona, a villa is taking shape, defined by a glulam timber frame designed to engage both with the surrounding landscape and with advanced construction methodologies. The primary challenge of the project involved integrating the ancient Japanese tradition of kigumi timber joints with modern fabrication techniques performed using CNC machinery.

Bringing these two worlds together required a detailed study of the tolerances achievable with contemporary cutting technologies which, despite their high precision, impose specific constraints when producing complex interlocking geometries. As a result, the development of the structural details became a mediation process between the formal freedom of the kigumi tradition and the practical capabilities of CNC equipment, allowing the artisanal logic of the joint to be reinterpreted through a series of highly controlled industrial processes.

The dynamic character of the interior spaces led to the use of timber elements with varying cross-sections, each with unique structural and geometric requirements. This made it necessary to design more than twenty different joint types, each tailored to resolve a specific structural node while maintaining a careful balance between strength, aesthetics, and construction feasibility.

The entire building rests on a reinforced concrete semi-basement, providing a solid yet discreet foundation that supports the lightness of the timber superstructure. Special attention was also dedicated to the design of the bracing elements: conceived not only to ensure the building’s horizontal stiffness but also intentionally left exposed, allowing them to become an integral part of the architectural language and to contribute to the technical expression of the interior spaces.