It was in 1951, and the industrial engineer Eustaquio Ugalde Urosa had just bought a plot of woodland right next to the sea at Caldes d'Estrac. Sitting under a carob tree and enjoying the views, he decided to build a house in this idyllic spot that would allow him to keep the landscape as it was. He commissioned his friend Josep Antoni Coderch for the project, who designed a two-storey house and garden made up of a set of volumes that perfectly met the original brief: they are perfectly integrated with the natural environment.

The views over the sea and the landscape of the site determined the building’s construction. It sought a space for itself in the middle of the forest, where it rises discreetly, respecting the environment. Local materials were also chosen, those typical of Mediterranean popular architecture such as the stone walls, the concrete slabs, floors with red terracotta tiles, wooden roofs or with tiled vaults.

The use of Catalan construction traditions is combined with more modern architectural forms. Thus, Casa Ugalde is an irregular building, open-plan and free-flowing, both on the plan and the elevation which fosters the fluid communication between the interior and the exterior. While inside all the walls are straight, the outside is dominated by a curved wall that separates the house from the wood. Within the whole complex, the terraces play a major part. The spaces are open and well-lit, thanks to the light that enters the building from all sides and the white colour of the whole building.

Work on the house finished in 1952. Its external appearance has been maintained up to the present day, despite the reforms of successive owners.