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sola house

Renovation of an apartment at Puerta del Sol, Madrid

‘There is another world, but it is in this one’ Paul Éluard

Living alone is a common form of domesticity that has been increasing in European cities that responds to a new social organization that is typical of the most developed cultures, which has consequences on the traditional’ ways of living.This argument is the starting point of the reform of a 40 m2 apartment located near the Puerta del Sol that, Dany, a retired French woman living in Paris, with two grown children, a lover of tango, wine and technology, and fascinated by Madrid, acquires to live alone and settle in at different times of the year.

Instead of the idea of separated rooms and corridors, as it was in the original house, this small and individual pied à terre is projected and organized as a single room where the entire domestic program, no matter public or private, is connected by a gray porcelain floor. The most emblematic feature of this house is a chest-cabinet lacquered in a blue RAL 5005 that adapts like a glove to the space and is located in the heart of the house; it contains and brings together the storage of the house and hides inside a secret room: the bathroom. This space for the care and maintenance of the body is naturally illuminated and visually connected to the bedroom through a large interior window that changes its opacity according to the privacy needed at different moments.

Dany's house seeks to be a good house for a good life,alone or with someone. A home that’s expanded in the city and augmented through the network; rich in details and that, in very few square meters, has the ability to adapt to different space-time situations : from meeting with friends, inviting her children for a season or simply enjoying the space alone; the house is an optimistic and contemporary urban refuge where to live the Madrid dream: dressed in red, within a space and with objects that look like they came out of an Almodóvar movie.

Built work

Credits

Location Madrid, Spain

Year 2021

Built area 40m2

Client private

Architecture gon (Gonzalo Pardo)

Team Carol Linares, María Cecilia Cordero, Cristina Ramirez, Iván Rando, Kostís Toulgaridis

Construction Serviteco Obras s.l

Carpentry Cortizo, Velux (ventana de tejado)

Kitchen Barronkress s.l

Metal work Rótulos Argoneón S.L.U.