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Futuristic architect designs ‘modern cave houses’
• 22 Mar 2007 •
 ARCHITECT Moises Alvarez Yela is responsible for designing modern-day ‘cave’ houses which are popping up throughout the province of Malaga. His constructions have no corners and are made without bricks using iron, sacks and cement. The original houses look like something straight out of the Flintstones and can be compared to some of Gaudi’s works of art.
Alvarez Yela’s system is called ‘Forma Libre’ and shies away from straight lines, preferring undulating columns, flighty porches and vaulted ceilings in his monolithic creations.
The architect, who lives in Marbella, claims to have been inspired by nests built by birds, and believes that simplifying building would allow people to built their own houses with natural materials like is still done in some parts of Africa and other countries.
He and his brother Emilio are the only architects to use this technique so far, and began to do so approximately three decades ago. The houses are built exclusively for their owners who can design them inside and out to their own personal needs.
They can even design the furniture to decorate the interior.
The houses can be as large and as high as the owners want them to be and they are finished in a very short space of time.
One, in Asturias, took only 15 days and the price per m2 was only 900 euros, not much different from traditional buildings.
The architect explains this is due to the materials that are used, which are not prefabricated.
A trench is dug and a metal structure installed, forming a type of cage.
This is then covered with sacking and both sides are covered with cement from a hose.
The sacks come cheap as some companies, mostly working with coffee and cocoa have several tonnes of excess sacks per year.
This makes the homes extremely eco-friendly, as they use recycled materials and they also save a lot of energy due to the fact that there are less surfaces to make thermal contact with the outdoors.
They are earthquake-proof and insulated against radioactivity and electromagnetic waves.
There are several of Alvarez Yela’s creations in towns such as Coin, Monda and Archez and he is currently building his own house in the province.
His next project is to build in Morocco and says his creations are for people who are not square-minded but free and easy.
He believes these are always those who have the most money but says that up until now his buildings have been acquired by people who treat them as works of art. |  Return to Top
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