The early 20th-century residences in Madrid are generally characterized by an elongated distribution of the domestic layout, resulting in very long corridors and small interior courtyards. Our proposal for this traditional typology involves consolidating a series of spaces, minimizing corridors and hallways wherever possible, and converting them into programmed rooms.
Previously, the layout of the residence comprised an entrance hall and closet, a corridor leading to the bedrooms and the separate kitchen, and finally, a living room separated from the rest of the dwelling facing the exterior facade. The new distribution consolidates the main programs: entrance hall, kitchen, and living room; eliminating the hallway between them and giving each domestic program its own identity.
Each room in the house is occupied by an object that qualifies the space and makes it function specifically. The main piece at the entrance to the residence is characterized by an enormous shelf covering the wall and folding horizontally, resulting in a false ceiling of cells that illuminates and conditions the space. This spatial shelf is made of raw DM plywood panels with a vanilla-colored laminate. A built-in wardrobe supports this inverted L-shaped structure. The wardrobe, seen from the living room, functions as a large cherry wood cube assembled with the shelf. Atop this wooden piece is the entrance to the residence executed with black paneling. This hollow and dark piece serves as a hinge to transition to an open kitchen connected to the hall and living room. The countertop's position and the removal of the partition separating the kitchen allow the hallway to be used as an area that makes cooking more enjoyable.
All materials used in this project play with radical heterogeneity, assigning materials and colors to each domestic program or piece. Cherry wood, aluminum, marble, ceramic, vanilla, ivory, and off-whites...
To optimize the construction budget, some elements are retained, such as the wooden flooring, exterior carpentry, some partition walls, and false ceilings... On the other hand, other elements are revealed in the demolitions as valuable, such as the metallic structure installed in the building's reconstruction, which is exposed upon removing the false ceiling covering it, increasing the living room's height to over three meters. Cornices, baseboards, and plaster moldings typical of an early 20th-century residence persist and coexist with metal beams and collaborating sheets from the latest major rehabilitation.
Team:
Architect: Estudio Gonzalo del Val
Author: Gonzalo del Val
Photografy: José Hevia
Material used:
1. Kitchen/Wardrobe: Cubro Design
