The latest issue of the C+A magazine by Cement Concrete and Aggregates Australia features the story of a remarkable home designed around a swimming pool that sits atop a concrete podium.


Located two hours south of Barcelona in the Spanish province of Teruel, the Solo House has been designed by Chilean architects Mauricio Pezo and Sofia von Ellrichshausen as the first of 12 houses on a 40-hectare nature reserve.


The square house sits on a podium of reinforced concrete, with a split staircase at one corner providing access to the upper level. 


The centrepiece of the upper level is a swimming pool with four living areas – the living room, bedrooms and a dining area and kitchen – laid along its perimeter. Bathrooms, storage cupboards and wardrobes are concealed behind wall cavities that help define the atrium and pool.


Open terraces have been placed at each corner of the cantilevered platform to take in the fabulous views.


The November issue of C+A also features case studies on a new hotel that has risen from the ashes in Oporto, Portugal, and a spectacular concrete ‘shed’ in far northern NSW that is unlike anything ever seen.


C+A magazine is available in Architext bookshops in Sydney and Melbourne and specialist bookshops in other capital cities, or via subscription.