RYB + RGB transforms a 150-square-metre former metalworking warehouse in the Vallecas neighborhood of Madrid into a home and workspace for a musician and performing artist. Rather than replacing the existing building fabric, Estudio Vilablanch worked with its established structure. Brick pillars, timber roof beams, and the original roof geometry are retained and exposed, preserving both material resources and traces of the building’s previous use.
The existing volume is organised across two levels. The largely open ground floor accommodates choreography, aerial acrobatics, pole dance, music sessions, and gatherings, while a mezzanine contains the bedroom, bathroom, and storage. This separation allows a relatively compact space to support different activities without extensive subdivision.
Colour as spatial infrastructure
Colour provides orientation while reducing the need for additional architectural elements. The ground floor follows the RYB pigment system — red, yellow, and blue. Blue defines the entrance façade and Cortizo M70 aluminium joinery, yellow identifies the music studio, and a continuous red bent-steel element performs several functions as it moves through the building, becoming a handrail, balustrade, wardrobe rail, and clothes bar. Upstairs, green Pirelli rubber flooring introduces the RGB light system — red, green, and blue — creating a clear distinction between communal and private areas while maintaining visual continuity across the interior.
Light, openness, and adaptability
New skylights bring daylight deep into the former industrial volume. Existing solid enclosure is replaced in places by glass blocks punctuated with small blue windows, creating a translucent surface that admits light while maintaining privacy. The ground floor remains almost entirely free of permanent partitions. Its ability to shift between rehearsal, performance, work, and social use extends the functional capacity of the existing building without requiring additional floor area. Elements such as the custom pole-dance apparatus also perform multiple roles, functioning as both equipment and structural support.
A durable material strategy
The project’s sustainability approach is primarily one of retention, adaptation, and longevity. Existing structural components are kept in service, while thermal insulation improves the performance of the envelope without substantially altering the character of the original volume.
New materials follow the industrial logic of the former workshop. Polished concrete, rubber flooring, ceramic tiles, perforated steel, and bent steel tubing are robust and relatively straightforward to maintain. Existing and new elements are unified through white surfaces, allowing the interventions to remain clearly legible.
