Transformation of an apartment with a patio between party walls. 2021. 40m2.

 

The apartment is located on the ground floor of a building and opens onto a large patio between party walls. According to the plan of Madrid by Tomas Lopez in 1785, the apartment building is built on top of a former lead factory in the old industrial zone in the district of Lavapiés. During the constuction of the new residential building in 1920, part of the structure and slabs from the factory were recycled for reuse in the ground floor of the new building.

 

The recently realized apartment transformation removes partition walls and false plaster ceilings, revealing the previously concealed

Catalan vaults and amplifying the living space.

 

The main space contains the kitchen, dining, and living room programs in a single, open space.  The kitchen functions as a place for socializing, and challenges the traditional hierarchy of kitchen as an enclosed, service space.  This subversion is highlighted through the fabrication of single, polished brass kitchen piece, which reflects and illuminates the central living area.  New wall openings in the facade establish an interior-exterior relationship, further expanding the use of the living space for inhabitants.

 

Finally, the types of plaster on the façade, one thin and one thick, creates different textures signifying between the areas beyond that are of a more communal nature and between those of a more private nature.

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Pictures by: Pablo Gómez-Ogando