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Architects: EME157
- Area: 280 m²
- Year: 2023
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Photographs:Luis Asín
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Manufacturers: Louis Poulsen, ARTIFICIO, BORA, Cortizo, ICONICO, Luce di Carrara, Nemo Lighting
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Lead Architects: Silvia Méndez-Vigo Chillida, Gerardo Macarrón Jaqueti
Text description provided by the architects. The El Viso neighbourhood was designed in 1926 by the architect Enrique Pfitz. The buildings are catalogued with level II volumetric protection, and must be modified in accordance with the regulations. When the clients bought the home, it didn’t follow the regulations. They conveyed to us their concern about recovering urban planning legality and respectfully restoring the home. The first thing we carried out was the demolition of the illegal areas and structural stabilization. From this moment we followed the reverse construction logic, that is, starting the house from the roof. The roof was rebuilt according to the established model and then the rest of the floors were built.
The next element was the staircase. Originally, being located in the center of the house it generated small and segmented spaces. That is why we decided to combine curved and straight sections and attach them to one of the facades. This allowed us to reduce its dimensions and not divide the space of each floor. On the semi-basement floor, we had two identical bedrooms with semi-open bathrooms. The only difference between them is the English patios to adapt to the regulations.
Thanks to the use of white marble in the covering of the English patios, we manage to bring more light into these rooms with the reflection it generates. The access to the house is through an external stair that leads to a single space in which the kitchen, dining room, and living room are located. The cabinets and refrigerators are attached to the party wall while the island and dining table, freestanding, allow movement around them. We chose polished steel with a mirror effect so that these elements would go unnoticed.
On the first floor, we allowed ourselves the luxury of dedicating it exclusively to the master bedroom. The closets are attached to the party façade and the circular staircase is located on the opposite façade. On its sides, two differentiated spaces are generated but connected to the central space, the bathroom, and the bed area. In the central space, with views of the street and the rear garden, are the living room, the bathtub, and the sink area.
On the under-roof floor, we find a living room that gives access to a bedroom and a bathroom. Internally, the oak wood that we use for floors, boards, cabinets, furniture, and tables plays a fundamental role. In general, the carpentry was treated with great care and each room is distinguished by its custom furniture. On the other hand, the other main material is Carrara marble used in bathrooms for floors, walls, countertops, sinks, and bathtubs.
On the outside, the dominant material is the white plaster characteristic of the area, although the most significant are the shutters and railings, fences, and planters that, although they follow what is proposed by the regulations, represent a contemporary reinterpretation of the original model. The English patios are covered with Carrara marble, and the landscaping by Benavides Laperche completes the intervention in the home.
