This coursework is a case study of the Two Cork Houses by Emiliano López Mónica Rivera Arquitectos.
The Two Cork houses are located on the Catalonian coast and serve as a holiday home to an extended family. The larger house consists of three floors and is 247 square meters in total, while the smaller one has four sub-floors and is 112 square meters in total.
![](https://www.iaacblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/1209cor_casa-corcho-gerona_lopez-rivera_jh21-1620x1080-1-730x487.jpg)
Photo by José Hevia and Juande Jarrillo
In both buildings the CLT walls and ceilings are left exposed.
![](https://www.iaacblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/1209cor_casa-corcho-gerona_lopez-rivera_jh88-1620x1080-1-730x487.jpg)
Photo by José Hevia and Juande Jarrillo
Mirroring the natural fabric of the environment and the surrounding topography, the exterior of the CLT walls are covered with double-layered cork panels. In the interior, the dominant texture is pine which comprises structural elements as well as windows and built-in furniture.
![](https://www.iaacblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/axo_form-730x516.jpg)
Two Cork Houses
![](https://www.iaacblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/plan01-730x516.jpg)
1st Floor Plan
![](https://www.iaacblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/plan0-730x516.jpg)
2nd Floor Plan
![](https://www.iaacblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/section_1_100_r-730x516.jpg)
Section
![](https://www.iaacblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/detail_1_25-730x516.jpg)
Section Detail
Both buildings have reinforced concrete foundations and walls which come in contact with the soil. The mass-timber construction starts above the reinforced concrete slabs. CLT wall panels are anchored to the concrete slabs with timber profiles.
![](https://www.iaacblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/axo_structure_exploded-730x516.jpg)
Structure Axon
![](https://www.iaacblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/material-730x516.jpg)
Building Components
![](https://www.iaacblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/quantative_analysis-730x516.jpg)
Amount of wood used in the project
The wood and cork panels were locally sourced. Both houses obtained a Class A energy rating (highest achievable by Spanish standards) with an annual energy consumption of 41.44 and 46.22 kWh/m2 and emissions of 7.04 and 7.88 kg of CO2/m2 a year.
Case Study – Two Cork Houses is a project of IaaC, Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia developed at Master in Mass Timber Design in 2021 by Student: Esin Aydemir Faculty:Vicente Guallart Course: MMTD01 – Cases