Raúl Almenara
Rooted in place: an andalusian architect’s dialogue between landscape, memory, and craft
In Casa del Nogal, nature takes center stage—literally. “The entire house bends around a century-old walnut tree,” he explains. “A dining table even pierces the façade to reach toward it.”
“My earliest architectural memory is hard to pinpoint,” he reflects, “but one that truly marked me was the courtyard of my grandmother’s house in Córdoba.” A space teeming with plants and flowers, it was the heart of the home—alive, communal, and rich with imagination. From a young age, he found fascination in places where architecture and nature merged seamlessly. “I vividly recall the patio at the Alcazaba in Málaga and the one at El Pimpi winery—those moments stayed with me.” Raised in Andalusia, he feels that his spatial and material narrative has been deeply shaped by the region’s architecture. “I became an architect while wandering the Jewish quarters of Córdoba and Seville with a camera in hand, documenting every portal, patio, and façade that caught my eye.” Although his formal education took place in Madrid and abroad, the foundational impressions were made in the streets of southern Spain.
The interplay between interior and exterior, nature and artifice, is central to his work—an inheritance from Andalusian tradition. Materials like water, light, and ceramics crafted by local artisans are not merely used; they are celebrated. “Even color, whether subtle or bold, is always intentional—it’s about evoking emotion.”
In Bodega Blanch, a boutique hotel born from a former winery, this philosophy is evident. “The architecture brings the landscape in. Each room is centered around an element inspired by the geometry of the prickly pear plant—vital to both the local economy and ecology.” Even the deep crimson of cochineal, once harvested from these plants, finds expression in the palette. “The volcanic hollows of La Geria were not obstacles—they were part of the project’s poetry.”
Movement and narrative are also central to Casa Najarro, a residence inspired by the choreographies of Spanish dancer Antonio Najarro. The house
spirals outward like a nautilus shell—its center, a shower representing the dancer’s body at the core of expression. “I was mesmerized by the way fabric moved in ‘Origen Alento.’ That motion, those folds and fringes, became walls, tables, and textures.”
In Casa del Nogal, nature takes center stage— literally. “The entire house bends around a century- old walnut tree,” he explains. “A dining table even pierces the façade to reach toward it.” For him, the line between domesticity and nature is not to be drawn, but blurred. Across over 100 projects, from orange groves in Córdoba to the sea-swept curves of Casa para un Pez in Tarifa, the land is always the first client. Sustainability, then, is not an aesthetic choice but an ethical foundation. “We always prioritize local materials—not just to reduce carbon footprint, but because these materials belong to the place. They understand the climate better than we do.” Studying sunlight, wind, and terrain is a constant in his design process.
