Site Diary May 2026

Earthworks at El Madroñal: ten months to prepare the ground

The earthworks phase for Villa Hope in El Madroñal is complete. Ten months of intensive work on a steeply sloping hillside — clearing, road-building, rock trenching and stepped ecological retaining walls — have transformed the plot and left it ready to receive the structure of the two villas. We take stock of a phase that will not be visible in the finished photographs, but that determines everything.

El Madroñal · Benahavís · July 2025 – May 2026

The starting point

El Madroñal is characterised by complex topography: steep slopes, rocky substrate, dense Mediterranean vegetation and extraordinary views over the golf valley and the Mediterranean. This makes the earthworks phase far more demanding than on a flat plot. It is not simply a matter of excavating, but of reading the terrain and reshaping it in a controlled way so that the architecture can settle into it with logic, safety, and without disturbing the landscape.

Villa Hope plot at El Madroñal before works began — The plot before works began. The steep slope, rocky substrate and existing vegetation define the starting conditions: everything built here would have to be won metre by metre from the hillside.

Natural sloping terrain at Villa Hope, El Madroñal, before intervention — The plot before works began. The steep slope, rocky substrate and existing vegetation define the starting conditions: everything built here would have to be won metre by metre from the hillside.

The earthworks

The first step was opening the temporary site road — the main artery for machinery, materials and personnel throughout the entire phase. From there, the hillside clearing began: removal of topsoil, rock excavation and the progressive formation of the stepped platforms on which the two villas will be built. Heavy machinery worked simultaneously on several fronts during the first months.

Excavator working on the hillside clearing at El Madroñal during the first months — The clearing works in full swing. The machinery shapes the hillside and generates the fill that will form the final platforms.

Earthworks in progress at Villa Hope, El Madroñal — The clearing works in full swing. The machinery shapes the hillside and generates the fill that will form the final platforms.

Advanced stage of earthworks at Villa Hope, El Madroñal — With the works well advanced, the new geometry of the plot begins to define itself. The stepped levels and access route take shape across the hillside.

Platforms taking shape and site roads on the El Madroñal hillside, advanced phase — With the works well advanced, the new geometry of the plot begins to define itself. The stepped levels and access route take shape across the hillside.

The foundations of the ecological retaining walls

The chosen retaining system is ecological gabion walls: wire mesh structures filled with rock excavated from the site, arranged in stepped terraces with planted ledges between them. Before each wall could be erected, its foundation trenches had to be cut directly into the natural ground — in many places through solid rock — to guarantee the structure's anchorage against the pressure of the fill and the forces of the slope.

It is worth clarifying: the images of trenches and the excavator opening foundations shown below are not the foundations of the villas. They are the foundations of the ecological walls themselves, which in some places had to be embedded several metres into the rock. Work that is invisible in the finished result, but essential for the stability of everything that comes after.

Excavation of the gabion wall foundation trench in rock, Villa Hope El Madroñal — Opening the foundation trenches for the gabion walls. Excavation into rock ensures the anchorage of the retaining structure.

Detail of the ecological wall foundation trench cut into natural ground, El Madroñal — Opening the foundation trenches for the gabion walls. Excavation into rock ensures the anchorage of the retaining structure.

Ecological wall foundation process with formwork and reinforcement, Villa Hope El Madroñal — The base of the walls is embedded in the natural rock of the hillside. Once the foundation has cured, the gabion mesh is raised on top of it and filled with rock from the site's own excavation.

Gabion wall foundation phase, detail of rock base, El Madroñal — The base of the walls is embedded in the natural rock of the hillside. Once the foundation has cured, the gabion mesh is raised on top of it and filled with rock from the site's own excavation.

This phase is one of the least visible in the finished result, but one of the most decisive. A good building implantation depends greatly on how the ground is resolved.

The final stretch

With the main walls built and the platforms compacted, the works enter their final straight: level adjustment, finishing of access roads and the last grading of the terrain. The hillside now shows its new geometry, but a few details remain to be closed before the phase is declared complete.

Final finishing and level adjustment works, Villa Hope El Madroñal — The last works of the phase: level adjustment, fill compaction and wall finishing. The plot is almost ready; only the final details remain before the next phase can begin.

Near-complete ecological walls and platforms, Villa Hope El Madroñal — The last works of the phase: level adjustment, fill compaction and wall finishing. The plot is almost ready; only the final details remain before the next phase can begin.

The result: the hillside reordered

With the walls complete and the platforms consolidated, the hillside looks entirely different from the original plot. The stepped terraces, with their grass ledges between wall and wall, order the slope with a geometry reminiscent of the cultivation terraces in the Málaga hinterland. The rock from the excavation, reused in situ as gabion fill, reduces the import of external material to a minimum and gives visual coherence to the whole.

Final result of the earthworks at Villa Hope: stepped gabion walls and platforms, El Madroñal — The finished ecological walls and platforms. The stepped terraces order the slope and create the levels on which the two villas will be built.

View of the completed platforms and ecological walls at Villa Hope, El Madroñal — The finished ecological walls and platforms. The stepped terraces order the slope and create the levels on which the two villas will be built.

General view of the finished earthworks, Villa Hope El Madroñal — Three views of the final state from different points on the plot. The transformed hillside shows its new geometry: terraces, roads and platforms organise a site that was previously inaccessible. In the background, always, the golf course and the sea.

Detail of the finished ecological gabion walls with planted ledges, Villa Hope El Madroñal — Three views of the final state from different points on the plot. The transformed hillside shows its new geometry: terraces, roads and platforms organise a site that was previously inaccessible. In the background, always, the golf course and the sea.

With the earthworks complete, the project moves into its next chapter: the villa foundations and the beginning of the structure. Everything that follows — walls, slabs, roofs, gardens — will rest on this ten months of quiet work that has reordered the mountain.

Related project

Villa Hope · El Madroñal, Benahavís →