The project proposes a volumetric restoration, preserving the geometry of the original roof, but understanding the volume as a continuous body, with a construction system which allows the façade and roof to be built with the same material.
This house is located in the district of Salamanca in the heart of Madrid, and more specific call in Fuente del Berro, a residential development built in 1920s next to the Fuente del Berro park from which it takes it name. It was built in what was then a quiet wooded area but with the passing of time is now viewed as the city centre.
The human scale of the development ensures a welcoming feel. The interiors of the existing buildings are subject to the structural system and the position of the staircase in the centre, dividing the space in rooms of 15m2 at best. On a trapezoidal plot, the house is at one end of a small terrace of three houses.
The project proposes a volumetric restoration, preserving the geometry of the original roof, but understanding the volume as a continuous body, with a construction system which allows the façade and roof to be built with the same material.
The external thermal insulation system has been covered with a flexible, smooth, white stucco. The perimetral structure is reinforced in such a way that the layout can be changed to make rooms bigger while hollows can be re-interpreted and redimensioned, allowing the wooden inside shutters for sunlight and privacy control to re-draw the openings of original building.
The programme is arranged around the intermediate floor, where the main bedroom is located, with the linear staircase attached to the party wall, leaving the end wall free, so that the rooms on the top floor can be bathed by sunlight. Meanwhile, going down to the main floor of the house, the staircase is adjoined to the opposite wall, creating the largest possible rectangle, measuring 82m2, within the trapezoidal site, to house the daytime area opening into the garden.
