Page 79 - AIT0719_E-Paper

Entwurf • Design Husos Architects, ES-Madrid
Bauherr • Client privat
Standort • Location Barrio de Acacias, ES-Madrid
Nutzfläche • Floor space 46 m 2
Fotos • Photos José Hevia, ES-Barcelona
Mehr Infos auf Seite • More infos on page 150

APARTMENT

IN MADRID

A young man, his bulldog, a vegetable garden and the
home they share - this is how Husos Architects des-
cribe their conversion of a 46-square-meter apartment
located in Madrid. They turned a stuffy three-room
apartment into a pleasant dwelling, which is comple-
tely tailored to the needs of the client in ecological,
economic and above all social respects.

T he world is undergoing constant and rapid change and so is the
way we all live an dwell in it. Traditional family structures are dis-
solving and climate change requires new forms of how we use resour-
Grundriss • Floor plan ces! Architecture reacts only slowly to these challenges; residential
construction in particular is often stuck in outdated floor plans and
construction solutions. All too often, the major players lack the cou-
rage and foresight to question the conventions they have learned. This
is why it is first and foremost the small protagonists–individual archi-
tects and their clients–who break new ground. In Madrid, the archi-
tects Diego Barajas and Camilo García from the architectural office
Husos Architects and their client, the young emergency doctor Jaime,
set themselves the task to transform a small, poorly ventilated apart-
ment dating from the 1960s into a new, contemporary home. A small
bathroom unit with shower and toilet is all that is left of the original
layout consisting of three rooms, a kitchen and a bathroom! The re-
maining rooms were transformed into a generously laid out single
room that accommodates all the functions of living. The windows of
the room are oriented to the east and west, which allows natural air
circulation. A vegetable garden stacked on three shelf levels on the
western balcony supports passive cooling and makes an air conditio-
ning system redundant. The vegetables grown on the balcony are wa-
tered with treated grey water from the shower. However, the air-con-
Schnitt • Section ditioning concept is not the only unconventional solution! The archi-
tects also made no compromises regarding the design of the living
space: Everything is tailored to the needs of Jaime and his bulldog, Al-
bóndiga. A light partition wall conceals the bed, a wardrobe and a
pink lounging area. The latter has an explicit function in Jaime's love
life: For within the gay subculture of the city, it is good manners to re-
ceive occasional acquaintances exclusively in the living room. The be-
droom, on the other hand, is reserved for long-term relationships! For
Albóndiga, on the other hand, the architects developed special cotton
Bewässerungssystem • Irrigation system islands that serve as pleasantly airy areas to lie on.

AIT 7/8.2019 • 079