Photography by Carlos Esteva. When this private client, a married couple, first approached Álvarez-Díaz & Villalón to build ‘the house of their dreams’ on the grounds of their sprawling family estate, the first challenge was to identify the exact location that would maximize the positive aspects of the topography while affording the most gracious views. Propped up on scaffolding, juggling digital cameras and folding ladders, the design team photographed the property from hundreds of angles before the ideal site was selected. Once the site was selected, construction could begin. The building’s foundation was raised slightly off the ground to disperse geothermal heat. In addition, the designers studied daily sunlight patterns and positioned the structure accordingly in order to warm the swimming pool during the cooler morning hours and illuminate the principal living quarters during the late afternoon. Finally, the main house was designed with functional balconies on all sides: each balcony meticulously planned ~ and precisely positioned ~ to both optimize wind flow and frame the property’s most breath-taking views. Stylistically, the goal was to create an authentic Spanish hacienda. Following Old World tradition, the house was anchored around a centralized interior patio in the Moorish style: enclosed on three sides ~ yet open on the fourth (similar to the Alcázar of Seville) ~ to reveal a reflecting pool ~ and mirror the water motif of the home’s magnificent marble fountain. A bell tower, horseshoe arches, a colonnaded,vineyard-style patio, and ornamental Moorish mosaic tilework (“azulejos”) completed this picturesque portrait of a faraway fantasy world of castles, chivalry, and swordsplay, reminiscent of Medieval Spain. Shortly after completion, this showcase home was showcased on the TVE Spanish television series Spaniards Around The World (Españoles Alrededor Del Mundo) as a prime example of authentic Spanish architecture designed outside the peninsula. Not surprising. After all, the story of a fairy-tale retreat as magical as this one deserves a happy ending.