Casa Altea | Viruta lab

Viruta Lab’s latest residential project reinterprets the rugged geography of the Mascarat Canyon on Spain’s Costa Blanca, steering clear of traditional nautical clichés. Utilizing a locally rooted material palette and a flexible system of sliding panels, the home unfolds as a sequence of spatial filters that modulate light and privacy while maintaining an unbroken connection to the Mediterranean landscape.

Architecture and interior design studio Viruta Lab, led by María Daroz and David Puerta, unveils Casa Altea on the Costa Blanca. Perched on the cliffs of Mascarat, where the coastline sheds its gentle curves to become a dramatic composition of fractures, folds, and vertical gorges, this duplex is conceived as a home suspended over the Mediterranean. Far from a conventional beach setting, Mascarat is defined by a captivating tension: the sheer mineral verticality of the Morro de Toix, the immense expanse of the sea, and the sheltered intimacy of a cove carved out of rock, water, and light.

Consequently, the interior consciously avoids literal nautical tropes, eschewing nets, anchors, predictable blues, and coastal nostalgia. Instead, Viruta Lab sought to translate the physical experience of the site: the stratified rock, the deep shadows cast by the cliffs, the sun's vibration on the limestone, the filtered breeze, and the horizontal stillness of the horizon. The duplex functions as a summer residence that frames, softens, and invites the sea inside in a
measured way. Rather than competing with the vastness of the exterior, the home retreats into a warm, serene atmosphere, envisioned as a contemporary cave open to the Mediterranean.

Reinterpreting the Mascarat topography indoors
In Casa Altea, the local topography is foundational. The Mascarat coastline is defined by sharp contrasts, sheer vertical walls, ravines, and stone coves, where the place name itself historically evokes a "difficult passage" or "carved stone."

The design emerged from a rigorous contextual analysis, a hallmark of Viruta Lab's methodology to conceptually and visually anchor architecture to its territory.
The project translates this dramatic geography into the interior architecture. Wooden slatted paneling echoes the striations of the cliffside, acting as a permeable, almost geological skin that introduces depth, shadow, and rhythm.

A Mediterranean, human scale is introduced through Hisbalit's two-tone mosaic tiles and Nais's green ceramic tiles, materials deeply rooted in the craftsmanship of the Spanish Levant. These elements evoke the shimmering effect of dappled light dancing across stone surfaces. Grounding the spaces, a dark ceramic baseboard runs throughout the layout, emulating the wet
waterline of the rocks, that precise point where the cliff meets the sea and the stone darkens from salt, shadow, and the constant lap of the waves.

The overall color palette leans on ochre, sand, honey, and light woods to reproduce the warm limestone of the surroundings, the reflections of the low sun, and the mineral dryness of the Costa Blanca. Meanwhile, sheer curtains and textile filters introduce the concept of sea mist and a veiled horizon, transforming the intense exterior light into a soft, liveable presence.

A viewpoint layout: filters, sightlines, and the landscape
Casa Altea is conceived as an elevated viewpoint suspended over the Mascarat landscape. From the moment of entry, the main floor opens up entirely toward the view. The foyer, kitchen, dining room, and living area merge into a single continuous space, an open platform that visually extends the home toward the cliff, the terrace, and the horizon. Rather than turning its back on the outdoors, the house invites the landscape in, turning the entrance into the start of a fluid
visual journey toward the sea.

However, this openness is not absolute. Viruta Lab introduced a custom-made slatted wooden sliding door system by Nomi, which functions as a flexible filter and privacy control. These panels allow the relationship between rooms to be modulated, activating or concealing direct and cross-cutting views.

Consequently, the floor plan can function as one grand, unified space or fragment into up to four distinct zones: foyer, kitchen, dining room, and living room, allowing each area to gain autonomy without losing connection to the whole.

The residence thus behaves as an architecture of curated sightlines, where spaces are delineated but never isolated, softened but never closed off. The wooden slats strike a perfect balance between privacy and continuity, mirroring the Mascarat landscape itself, which naturally alternates between expansive openings, sheer drops, deep shadows, and vistas rushing toward
the horizon.

Zoning and elevated perspectives
The bedroom quarters are situated at the rear of the duplex, occupying a more sheltered and private position. Comprising all double bedrooms, this zone forms a protected sanctuary for rest, removed from the direct exposure of the sea-facing facade. In contrast to the open and expansive day areas, this rear wing introduces a more intimate, contained atmosphere, almost carved into the inner stillness of the home.

Within this layout, the primary bedroom reconnects with the topography, functioning as a bedroom-viewpoint, a space to wake up facing the rock, the changing light, and the sea. Its positioning reinforces the prominence of the landscape within the home, seamlessly integrating the surroundings into daily routines.

On the upper floor, the duplex culminates in a compact home office and a second terrace. This higher elevation introduces a new spatial condition: it is no longer just about looking at the sea from the main living area but commanding the landscape from a privileged vantage point. The office becomes a quiet space for concentration suspended over the Mediterranean, while the upper terrace acts as a final, intimate lookout, allowing the home to peak out from the highest point of its own domestic topography.

Architecturally, the project operates on a clear premise: transforming the home into a sequence of sensory filters between the dweller and the landscape.

Slatted wood, sliding doors, textiles, ceramics, and level changes serve as precise tools to modulate light, views, privacy, and outdoor connections.
Ultimately, Casa Altea interprets the Mascarat geography from within. It avoids the vocabulary of boats or beaches, speaking instead of rock, shadow, the horizon, and shelter, a summer home conceived as a place to pause, contemplate, and rest between the mineral verticality of the cliff and the infinite calm of the Mediterranean.

Furniture, craftsmanship, and design icons
The curation of furniture and lighting pieces enhances the tactile, sensory nature of the residential architecture. In the living room, the space is defined by the Tekiò Horizontal P2 suspension lamp by Santa & Cole, alongside the Graphius sofa and Cliente pouf by Paolo Nessi, upholstered in fabrics from La Madrid and Gabriel. The Lucia dining table by Decowood pairs seamlessly with Santa & Cole’s iconic Ramón chairs, complemented by the Deya side table and the small Pista bench by Ferm Living. The space is completed with stools by Horm (Casamania) and the Fosca stool by Blasco & Vila, illuminated by the technical precision of Ferroluce’s Berimbau wall sconces.

Wool rugs in the living room and primary bedroom feature the Hand loom Goz model by Rug Gan (GAN Rugs), while the secondary bedrooms incorporate Naturtex’s Amalfi rugs, Isabela headboards by Cofaneti, and Mini mirrors by Montana. The upper office features the Sector desk in brass and a walnut side table by Stigido.

The outdoor terrace is fully furnished by Expormim, showcasing the Cask collection—including the outdoor sofa, armchair, and lounger—paired with the Talo and Hexagonal tables. The outdoor ensemble is completed with Maurina chairs by Kave Home and Plaff-on 16 wall lamps by Marset.

The interior design solidifies its profound connection to raw materiality through integrated art and craft pieces, such as the ceramic works Kylix Obsidiana, Lebes, Arq 008, and Deriva nº 25 by Canoa Lab, alongside the painting 'Retrato de mi suegro Paco' by Más cara que espalda.