URBAN FRAMEANDORRA LA VELLA
ANDORRA LA VELLA - RESIDENTIAL PROJECT
An urban belvedere towards the mountains.
Urban Frame rises in the heart of Andorra la Vella as an architecture that interprets the city and transforms it into a frame. More than a building, it is a contemporary statement of mountain architecture: a volume that is strategically stacked and shifted to capture views and turn the landscape into a permanent protagonist.
From the public space, its silhouette acts as a modern manifesto; from the interior, each room is oriented towards the mountains, integrating them into the daily experience. The architecture does not compete with the environment: it frames, celebrates, and brings it closer.
The blurred boundary between inside and outside.
The project is configured by shifted volumes that generate wide, continuous perimeter terraces and outdoor spaces. These volumetric gestures extend the home towards the landscape and multiply perspectives.
Large glass panes —some reaching up to six meters in height— dissolve the physical boundary between inside and out. Natural light penetrates deeply, while the landscape becomes a constant presence. Interior and exterior are understood as a single fluid space.
A balance between stone, metallic precision, and timber.
The house is anchored to the land through a basalt stone plinth, handcrafted in three different textures and with pieces up to 25 cm thick. The result evokes a sculpted rock, solid and timeless, which provides visual stability and character.
Above this mineral base, metallic cornices and overhangs tighten the building’s geometry. Their powerful structural presence is balanced with a sense of lightness in the whole. Manufactured in trasolar material, these cornices subtly modify their tone according to the time of day, giving the building a changing and living image.
Timber on ceilings and screens introduces the warmth needed to balance the precision of metal, creating a harmonious composition between strength and subtlety.
A language of textures and integrated light.
The material palette combines natural stone, anthracite and champagne-toned aluminium, and heat-treated timber. The result is a sober, durable, and coherent visual language.
Glass balustrades and perforated meshes are integrated with carefully designed linear lighting, reinforcing the clean reading of the whole and unifying all façades under a single identity.
Urban Frame thus becomes an emblem of architecture that transmits calm and character simultaneously.
Invisible efficiency and permanent comfort
Urban Frame’s architecture works silently to guarantee interior wellbeing. The ventilated façade, solar protection, and thermally broken joinery optimise energy performance.
South-facing to maximize solar gain, the home features mostly dual-aspect spaces that promote cross ventilation and natural lighting. The aerothermal system and advanced home automation —with outdoor sensors that regulate the interior temperature— ensure precise climate control throughout the year.
Technology and architecture are integrated invisibly, reinforcing the experience of comfort without interfering with the purity of the design.
Project Team
| Ciro Orobitg | Co-founder · Lead Architect |
| Jose Luis Orobitg | Co-founder · Lead Architect |
| Marianna Sedra | Design Architect & Interior design |
| Damiela G. | Interior Design |
| Carlota C. | Project Manager |
| Jordi Ramentol | Structural Engineering (collab) |
| JG ingenieros | MEP Engineering (collab) |
| ZZB architecture | Infographics (collab) |
| C&C | Photography (collab) |