In the heart of the Urdaibai Biosphere Reserve—where the estuary draws liquid geometries between marshland and hillside—a wounded house begins to breathe again. Caserío Ozollo Atzekoa, originally built in 1537 and damaged by fire in the 1970s, has been carefully rehabilitated by Hilatura Estudio in a process marked by emotion and precision: an architectural seam that repairs the passage of time without concealing it, embroidering the present over the memory held in stone.
This baserri, a word in Euskera that fuses baso (forest) and herri (village), has always been more than just a house: it is a structure of life, a self-sufficient core, a living testament to the ancestral dialogue between architecture and landscape. Hilatura Estudio’s intervention—with its attentive, grounded, and forward-thinking approach—has remained faithful to that legacy, while opening the caserío to new domestic rhythms, environmental responsibility and meaningful spatial connections.
Main and interior façades: a double narrative of a house that looks back with renewed life
The façades of Caserío Ozollo Atzekoa become a privileged field of expression within this project. Where time had left its marks—some noble, others scarring—Hilatura Estudio has responded with a dual sensitivity: one that restores with reverence, and another that reinterprets with boldness.
The main façade, facing the rural landscape of Urdaibai, preserves the visible memory of nearly five centuries of architectural history. Its original materials have been treated as a living heritage: structural wooden beams, brick masonry, forged iron balconies, and timeworn carpentry softened by the Cantabrian mist. Each element has been carefully cleaned, consolidated, and restored—not with a museographic impulse, but with a gesture of continuity. Even the thermal insulation, required for modern comfort, has been implemented with full respect for the breathability of the stone walls, striking a delicate balance between technical performance and emotional resonance.
In contrast, the interior façade—facing inward, toward the heart of the home and the marsh beyond—tells a story of absence and reinvention. Following the partial collapse in the 1970s, it had been reduced to a soulless concrete wall, stripped of all traditional references. Rather than attempt to reconstruct what was lost, Hilatura Estudio embraced the void and conceived something entirely new: an inner courtyard, envisioned as a liminal space, a threshold between the house and its natural surroundings.
This act—of opening, rather than concealing—is deeply contemporary. Large panes of glass, warm wood, and quiet, neutral materials compose a new language, one that does not mimic, but rather engages in dialogue. The courtyard is not merely a space from which to look out; it becomes an inhabitable extension of the home, a breathing room that captures light and frames the flight of Urdaibai’s birds—returning them as part of domestic life.
Thus, the two façades tell a dual story: one is the past restored with fidelity; the other, the future reimagined with freedom. Both remain true to their time, embracing one another in a shared present where architecture does more than shelter—it listens, responds, and resonates.
Each intervention, each detail of the project, has been conceived as part of a continuous fabric that honours the slow rhythm of materials. The ceramics and surfaces, the natural insulation, the water and air systems, the carefully selected furnishings and the artworks that inhabit its walls are not mere additions: they are new words in an ancient language.
Hilatura Estudio has revealed here its approach to architecture: as an act of listening, a process of accompaniment, a sensitive conversation with the past and with those who dwell in it today. The result is a caserío that no longer looks to the past with nostalgia, but with a renewed sense of fullness—an architecture that remembers with respect and embraces the present, demonstrating that the traditional and the contemporary can indeed coexist in perfect harmony.
Project: Caserío Ozollo Atzekoa.
Location: Gautegiz-Arteaga, Bizkaia
Original construction: circa 1537. Reconstruction: 1734. Second construction: circa 1933. Fire and partial collapse: 1970s.
Comprehensive rehabilitation: 2024
Architecture and interior design: Hilatura Estudio.
Main furniture: Stua.
Accessories (rugs, vases, lamps): Zara Home.
Ceramics, interiors and façades: Marazzi.
Artworks: Dok Atelier, a project of Leire Zabala y Haritz Oyaga.
Styling and set design: Bea Torelló.
Photography: Erlant Biderbost.
Source: Hilatura Estudio.
Hilatura Estudio
Hilatura Estudio is a name born from precision and sensitivity. Based in Bilbao, this team of architects is passionately dedicated to designing new homes, complete renovations and inhabitable interiors, each infused with aesthetic intention.
The studio was founded in 2022 as the union of two creative minds: architects Matteo Cassano (San Giovanni Rotondo, 1982) and Mikel Quintana Astondoa (Bilbao, 1993). Their prior journeys have taken them through cities such as Riyadh, Paris and Naples, expanding a vision that blends the local with the global. This diverse experience shapes their approach: an architecture rooted in dialogue, research and material experimentation.
Those who know Hilatura Estudio often describe them as a kind of “architectural artisans”, where each design is conceived as a singular creation—interwoven with sensitivity and a deep respect for both tradition and innovation. A poetic and finely attuned legacy.
Since its inception, Hilatura Estudio has been weaving an architectural discourse that feels akin to silent poetry: creating spaces that not only serve a purpose, but also tell a story. The stitching and embroidery of their built work speak of detail, touch, and a profound attentiveness to place, to its inhabitants, and to the time in which each project unfolds.
Hilatura Estudio
Calle Urgozo 8, Bajo comercial 2A
(Entrada por calle San Nicolás de Olabeaga)
48013 Bilbao
+34 688 603 420
hola@hilaturaestudio.com
www.hilaturaestudio.com
@hilaturaestudio
Project by Hilatura Estudio
