Studio Kotorre
02 Restoration

Casa Palacio de los Manrique

The portal of the Casa Palacio de los Manrique
01The portal of the house, Atienza
Location
Atienza, Guadalajara
Building
Noble residence of the 18th century, built by Don Juan Andrés Manrique Lozano, hidalgo of Condemios de Arriba, after his certificate of nobility was granted by the Royal Chancery of Valladolid
Construction
Ashlar and timber — an example of Castilian noble architecture
Coat of arms
Carved in reddish stone on the façade: a castle, two rampant lions, three fleurs-de-lis and a hidalgo's helmet
Floors
Ground floor and first floor, surveyed and drawn at 1:100
Stage
Restoration · the shell was completed in three months
Documentation
LA OBRA, a book on the works, 2025
Architects
Tom Kobayashi · Tassilo de la Torre

“Vera claritas non nascendo quaeritur sed vivendo” True nobility is not sought in birth, but in the way one lives. — the phrase on the coat of arms of the house

Atienza, a historic village in Guadalajara, is home to the eighteenth-century Casa Palacio de los Manrique, a noble residence that exemplifies traditional Castilian architecture. Its austere façade of ashlar and timber carries the family coat of arms, a testament to centuries of heritage.

Tassilo de la Torre led the restoration from the site itself: days spent working alongside the building team, evenings and weekends given to planning materials, coordinating the sequence of the works and refining the drawings. That involvement closes the distance between designing a building and putting it up.

The shell was completed in three months. The doorways are so narrow that machinery was almost impossible to bring in, so most of the work was done by hand — an intensive manual labour and a traditional building process that gave the site the character of another age.

Goals of the reform

  1. 01Open and unify interior spaces.
  2. 02Restore the structure.
  3. 03Preserve original elements.
  4. 04Modernize installations while respecting the building.
  5. 05Adapt the house to current standards.
The roofs of Atienza seen from above
02The roofs of Atienza
An early drawing of the house in red ink on torn paper
03An early drawing of the house, in red ink
Ground floor as found, 1:100
04Ground floor as found, 1:100
Ground floor as proposed, 1:100
05Ground floor as proposed, 1:100
First floor as found, 1:100
06First floor as found, 1:100
First floor as proposed, 1:100
07First floor as proposed, 1:100
Ground floor with finishes, areas and installations
08Ground floor with finishes, areas and installations, 1:100
First floor with finishes, areas and installations
09First floor with finishes, areas and installations, 1:100
The ground floor shored with props during the works
10Shored during the works
Two bricklayers building one of the arches
11Building the brick arches
The room with its three new brick arches
12The three new brick arches, under the old beams
The arches against the light
13The arches against the light
One of the original coffered doors laid down for restoration
14One of the original doors, taken down to be restored
The stair with its turned balusters
15The stair with its turned balusters
The cover of the book LA OBRA
16LA OBRA — the book on the works, 2025
Floors, as drawn
FinishWhere
Baldosa de barroClay tile — the two salons, the dining room and a bathroom
Baldosa hidráulicaHydraulic cement tile — corridor, landing, library and a bathroom
Tarima de maderaTimber boards — bedrooms, pantry and study
Baldosa recuperadaReclaimed tile — cloakroom
Baldosa bicolorTwo-colour tile — kitchen
PiedraStone — the entrance hall
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