Less than two hundred meters from the Albacete urban center lies Casa Delmuelle. Built in 1971, this medium-sized, compartmentalized apartment, offers immense possibilities to rediscover—thanks to an adequate layout—its previously lost magic.
When the apartment was acquired, its condition was suitable to live in. However, its design was somewhat outdated and far from the specifications required by the new tenant.
The goal of Z3 Arquitectura Interior was to provide a new feeling of space, cleanliness, and order, providing the entire house with newness and charm. This was achieved by connecting areas and eliminating useless rooms as well as improving new spaces to achieve ideal performance and thus meet the new design’s standards.
Special attention was paid to the acoustic improvement of the areas next to dividing walls. All windows were replaced, and more comfortable corners were achieved by means of the new layout.
“We found a house originally designed to serve the needs of a typical family in the 1970s; it needed reorganizing to adapt it to a new time and to a completely different family use. Space and comfort gain prominence over the original narrowness and ultra-compartmentalization.”
This is why the project design focused on giving more relevance to common areas—where one can interact and relax with visitors—while taking also care of the private areas—which provide feelings of calmness and relax. The house is thus divided into two areas separated by a fictitious central axis, generating an area dedicated to social use and another intended for private use.
Firstly, we find a living room completely open to the dining room and the kitchen areas; they are linked to a private laundry room with extra storage space behind a glass door. The house is designed in three tones with simple finishes, a hallmark of the dwelling. Black, wood, and white colors decorate the entire house, accompanying the user at every moment.
It is in the kitchen where these tones are shown in complete harmony. The massive central island, anchored to the metal structure of the building and finished in black color, captures the visitor's attention, becoming a focal point for social events. A series of linear pieces of furniture running in parallel with it—simple, clean, equipped with shelves and white support modules hidden in the dividing wall—conform the rest of this large, highly practical kitchen.
The large living room focuses on the natural light contribution by the façade, leading directly to the third area, the dining room. The latter has in turn has a second possible use after the creation of an open studio, interrelated with the rest of the room.
One of the key elements of the house new design is the use of floor-to-ceiling, oak-framed doors. This option allowed us to highlight the rooms, which become part of the dwelling’s final design. Regarding the service bathroom, this solution—together with the installation of decorative fixtures—allows it to go completely unnoticed and integrated into the area with remarkable subtlety.
The areas intended for private use may be accessed through a corridor reduced by half when compared to the original. It receives natural light from different, purposefully open passages. Artificial light support by an adjustable light beam creates a cozy environment leading to the last two rooms of the house.
The room aimed at family and friends is an ample bedroom equipped with a large closet, a study area, and all that is necessary to achieve absolute tranquility and privacy.
The double room is actually a suite with a linear dressing room, a small studio, and a private bathroom, all welcoming us to this vast space. The bed, behind a semi-open partition made of wooden slats, completes the room.
A carefully studied lighting based on straightness and geometry was selected for the entire house. It boasts linear, circular, or triangular contributions in the light beams, suggesting different emotions in the user. This, together with the new zoned climate facilities and a correct natural and artificial ventilation, generates a feeling of absolute comfort and well-being.
It is an enormous satisfaction for Z3 Arquitectura Interior to enjoy the opportunity to update an obsolete dwelling to obtain such a pure result. Casa Delmuelle reflects the limitless possibilities offered by an outstanding design, a result capable of changing the people's daily lives and sensations.
