A contemporary dwelling within a traditional Pasiego cabin Casa Mínima, designed by Estudio Mínima, is a thoughtful rehabilitation project located in the rural landscape of Cantabria, northern Spain. The project transforms a deteriorated agricultural structure into a contemporary dwelling while preserving the spatial logic and material presence of this vernacular building type. The Pasiego cabins, known for their stone constructions, are deeply rooted in the semi-transhumant pastoral culture of the region. Built with thick masonry walls and timber roofs, these structures traditionally combined livestock spaces on the ground floor with seasonal living quarters above, accessed directly from the exterior by a stone staircase. The intervention preserves this typological structure while adapting the building to contemporary domestic use. The exterior volume and stone masonry remain largely unchanged, maintaining the characteristic dry-stone appearance within the landscape. Rather than altering the façade, the environmental upgrade is concentrated inside the building through the construction of a high-performance internal envelope that provides insulation and airtightness while preserving the historic structure. This strategy allows the building to achieve the EnerPHit standard, the Passivhaus certification for high-performance retrofits. Originally, the ground floor functioned as a stable: a dark, continuous space defined by massive stone walls and minimal openings. The rehabilitation transforms this level into the main domestic area, organizing kitchen, dining, and living spaces within a single open interior. New openings carved into the thick masonry introduce natural light and establish a direct relationship with the surrounding valley. Adjacent to the house, a former manure enclosure has been cleared and redefined as a stone patio paved with the large slabs that once formed the stable floor, preserving the material memory of the building while extending the domestic space outward.

Design Highlights

Preservation of original stone masonry and external volume High-performance internal envelope for insulation and airtightness EnerPHit standard for high-performance retrofits Transformation of ground floor into open domestic area New openings for natural light and valley views Stone patio using reclaimed stable floor slabs

Key Facts