The "Villa Nurbs" is a project by Spanish architect Enric Ruiz-Geli in collaboration with Spanish artist Frederic Amat and Spanish ceramics maker Toni Cumella.
"Villa Nurbs" is a family house located in Empuriabrava on the Costa Brava that features vivid, wavelike shapes that use ceramic panels as protection against solar radiation. The ceramics for the north wall of this building were produced using digitally-cut molds under the direction of Cumella. These pieces form the building's ceramic ‘skin' and are shaped in a manner inspired by the scales of a reptile, and were painted by Amat. Ruíz-Geli has brought industry and art closer together by integrating traditional materials such as ceramics and latest-generation materials such as Corian panels by DuPont and ETFE segments by Covertex. In this way he has created an impressive, comprehensive whole piece of architecture.
Enric Ruiz Geli and Cloud 9
www.cumella.cat
www.corian.com
www.covertex.de
Integration of the roof frame
Facade panels made of Corian
Installation of Corian facade panels
Structural composition of the ceramic tiles
Ceramics, Vidrio glass and Corian (l.t.r.)
View on the CAD Model. Four different materials were used for the facade covering All photos: © Luis Ros, "Villa Nurbs", Empuribrava, Spain
Layered buildup of the base
The substructure of the facade is made of fire-resistant Kevlar fabrics
View into "Villa Nurbs" with a pool in the middle
The ceramic tiles were fixed onto a wire rope construction
The ceramic tiles are an achievement of a joint venture of Toni Cumella with Frederic Amat
Detailed view on the curved glass elements
In this section of "Villa Nurbs" facade panels made of ETFE were installed