Gil Briffa, an architect, and his wife Hilary, from St Albans, Herts, wanted a house they could retire to in southern Spain, but not just any old place would do. High in the Andalucian hills, 30 minutes form Malaga on Spain’s Costa de Sol, the Briffa’s heart’s desire was a ruthlessly modernist construction of glass and light, far removed from the whitewashed fincas (farmhouses) that dot the local countryside.