Cadaqués is a whitewashed village in the Alt Empordà, at the easternmost point of Catalonia on the Cap de Creus peninsula. Home to some 2,918 people (2025), it faces the tramuntana, strong and persistent, which makes airtightness a decisive factor: a Passivhaus envelope holds comfort stable even through the most insistent wind.
Cadaqués is one of the most recognised villages on the Costa Brava, with a whitewashed centre of lime and slate declared a historic ensemble (Cultural Asset of National Interest) and an identity tied to Cap de Creus and Portlligat, where Salvador Dalí kept his home and studio between 1930 and 1982. Its landscape singularity makes it a demanding market, where every new build is measured by its respect for a heavily protected whole.
The tramuntana, a cold, dry north wind that here has exceeded 200 km/h, makes airtightness and infiltration control the decisive factor in comfort and energy consumption; fittingly, the dividing line of its behaviour runs right through Cap de Creus. The Passivhaus standard and the Eskimohaus® system respond directly to this challenge with a highly insulated envelope, triple glazing and heat-recovery ventilation. Coastal salinity adds a further demand on material selection.
Building in Cadaqués calls for respect for the landscape of the Cap de Creus Natural Park, the first marine-terrestrial park in Catalonia (1998, Law 4/1998, of 12 March), and for its tradition of lime and compact volumes. We work on integration from the first sketch, reconciling Passivhaus performance with the architectural language the village and its protected setting require.
Cap de Creus protection, whitewash and composition rules, and a protected centre. Cadaqués calls for sensitivity to context.
Thermal performance, not display.
Our method in Cadaqués starts from a clear premise. In such an exposed setting, a home's value is measured by its ability to hold comfort on the least possible energy without yielding to the wind. Orientation and shelter from the tramuntana are worked from the siting stage; the envelope is insulated and sealed until thermal bridges and infiltration are eliminated, the most critical point in the face of a persistent wind; triple-glazed joinery and heat-recovery ventilation guarantee clean air and a stable temperature without opening windows to the tramuntana; materials are chosen with coastal salinity in mind; and the palette stays within the whitewash and composition range the protected whole requires. Landscape integration is resolved before the technical design is closed, to avoid late reworking.
Cadaqués's historic centre, declared a historic ensemble and Cultural Asset of National Interest, concentrates the lime-and-slate heritage, crowned by the Church of Santa Maria (documented since 1279) at the highest point of the core, with interventions subject to a protection regime and to composition rules for facades and volumes. The area around Portlligat, home to the Salvador Dalí House Museum, keeps a character of its own tied to the Cap de Creus landscape. The edges of the village, within the natural park, hold a very high landscape requirement. Each area has its own planning regime and landscape sensitivity.
It makes a great deal of sense. The tramuntana here has exceeded 200 km/h, and the stronger and more persistent the wind, the more infiltration weighs on comfort and consumption, and the greater the return from a highly airtight envelope. A Passivhaus home in Cadaqués holds a stable temperature without relying on opening windows exposed to the tramuntana.
Yes. Passivhaus is a performance requirement, not a style. It is fully compatible with the whitewash, compact volumes and composition that the Cadaqués centre, a declared BCIN historic ensemble, and Cap de Creus protection require.
Proximity to the sea calls for materials and finishes resistant to the saline environment, especially in joinery and external elements. We build this in from the design stage to guarantee durability in an exposed coastal setting.
Resolution usually runs between 8 and 16 weeks from complete documentary submission, with extensions possible on plots affected by landscape or heritage protection within the Cap de Creus Natural Park.
Building in Cadaqués is not something to settle with an automatic configurator. The plot, the exposure to the tramuntana, the relationship with the landscape and the Cap de Creus planning regime are variables that call for direct dialogue. A conversation with one of our architects will give you more than any online estimate.