Solaia Residence: new build apartments for sale in Estepona

The frame of the building is reinforced concrete. Its outer walls are built of brick with insulation for heat and sound, then rendered to keep out water and painted. Between homes, the walls are sound-insulating brick with a further layer of insulation, lined with plasterboard.

Porcelain tiles one metre square run through the homes and out onto the terraces, where they have a non-slip finish. The bathroom walls are tiled to match the floors, and elsewhere the walls are finished in off-white paint. The ceilings are plasterboard, with extra sound insulation where they hold the air conditioning units.

The window frames are dark brown aluminium. Each has a thermal break, which means the frame is made in two halves joined by insulation, so that heat and cold outdoors do not pass through the metal. The double glazing cuts noise and ultraviolet light and has a low-emissivity coating, a thin layer that keeps warmth in during winter and turns back the heat of the sun in summer. The terrace railings are laminated safety glass.

A reinforced front door with concealed hinges. The doors inside are smooth white lacquer, also on concealed hinges, with sliding doors in some rooms. The built-in wardrobes have soft-closing lacquered doors, drawer units and LED lighting on a sensor.

Fitted units in a cream tone around an island, with doors and drawers that open at a push and close softly. The worktop and splashback are porcelain, with hidden LED lighting, a double sink, a power socket in the island and built-in recycling bins. The kitchen comes with a dishwasher, an oven, a microwave, an induction hob and an extractor hood.

Porcelain tiles cover the floors and walls and carry on into the showers, which have a hidden drain, a toughened glass screen and a shower head built into the ceiling, on a thermostat so that the water does not run suddenly hot or cold. The toilets have a built-in bidet and a heated seat. The basins sit on wooden vanity units under lit mirrors that do not steam up, with heated towel rails set into the walls and lit niches above the toilet and in the shower.

A geothermal system heats and cools the homes and provides the hot water. Geothermal means the system draws its warmth, and its cooling, from the steady temperature of the ground below the building rather than from gas or the outside air. The heating runs under the floors, each room has its own temperature control, and a mechanical ventilation system draws fresh air in and stale air out.

The lighting, heating and cooling can be run from a home automation system, and visitors are answered through a video entry phone. Wired internet sockets are fitted in the living room, kitchen and main bedroom, with television points in the living area and every bedroom, and double USB sockets in the living and sleeping areas.