This project is located in a new development area in the Villaverde district of southern Madrid. Comprised of 176 one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments, it responds to an overall masterplan for the site which requested a single U-shaped block of eight storeys high and which has the appearance of a pitched roof. Within the confines of this brief, the design attempted to manipulate these architectural restrictions so as to abstract the normative idea of an apartment block. So whereas other neighbouring buildings adopt a symmetrical, double-pitched silhouette, here the traditional relationships of wall and roof are abstracted into a low, single pitch for the bulk of the block, and a small secondary pitch at the ... Continue reading →

project: Mirador

Sanchinarro is a residential suburb on the north east edge of Madrid. Surrounded by highways, with views towards the Guadarrama Mountains. The building was developed as a reference point for the city extension and region at large, as a counterpoint against the massive uniformity of the surrounding blocks. The 22 level building acts as a frame for the distant landscape. The large lookout at 40 metres above the ground provides inhabitants and neighbours with a community garden and a space from where they can contemplate the skyline. The proposal opens domestic architecture to the new city environment and to its surrounding territories. The Mirador contains a wide variety of compact housing types. In contrast to the serial and rationalist repetition of the standard family unit, the housing units are grouped in small buildings. These blocks, stacked and glued together, make up a new towering superblock. It will provide the neighbourhood area ... Continue reading →