Villa Fuente Alta: Granada
Villa Fuente Alta is a farmhouse sitting within a working olive farm in a subtropical valley, with views south to the coast and north to the mountains of the Sierras de Tejeda, Almijara y Alhama Natural Park in Spain. An additional neighbouring plot has been purchased by the client which will act as an entertaining space and location for a new swimming pool as well as guest accommodation.
The first stage is regular irrigation of the valley sides. Rather than imposing a planting plan straight away, this approach watches which native and self-seeded flora establish once water is reliably available. What comes up will guide later planting, so the scheme grows out of the site’s own conditions.
Close to the main house, the hard landscape is proposed to be reworked to suit new living arrangements. Drystone walls run between the house and the olive groves, as an inexpensive way to define spaces and terraces, using a traditional building method that sits naturally in the agricultural setting with material currently on site. The walls will act as links between the domestic garden and the working farm as opposed to hard boundaries.
The existing vegetation around the main house is proposed to be cleaned and some species removed to create a cleaner mix with better form. New formal planting around the guest house and pool complex will mirror it, such that the separate property reads as part of the main plot rather than an outlier.
Finally, a network of paths are proposed to climb from the house to a new viewpoint. From there, the views open south across the coast and north to the peaks of the natural park, which will give the walk through the farm a clear destination.
