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Architects: Camila Kuncar, Ignacio Aguado
- Area: 150 m²
- Year: 2018
- Photographs: Gabriel Asdrúbal
Text description provided by the architects. This work presented us with a great challenge: the renovation of an apartment in very poor condition, located in an old building in the center of Madrid.
For two years we worked closely with our clients, with whom we aimed to renovate this run-down space. Our main objective was to preserve its heritage and, at the same time, achieve a comfortable, fresh, light-filled interior with a balanced distribution of common and private spaces, allowing intimate moments and family gatherings in a pleasant and comfortable environment.
The inhabitants of the house, an Italian-Spanish family who loves cooking, had a mission for us: the kitchen should be the most important space, the "cuore" of the house. The mission was to design a space that was integrated into both the living room and dining room but, at the same time, separated through a permeable barrier that allowed it to be visually connected to the rest of the house from the inside.
For this reason, we envisioned the kitchen as a cube of industrial iron and glass partitions with openings on 3 of its sides. The interior revolves around a central marble and wood table, restored from the furniture that its former owners left behind in the house.
The rooms of the house are distributed by wings: in the east wing is the main room and en-suite bathroom, far from the other rooms. The three children's rooms, the shared bathroom, and a laundry area are in the west wing. Both wings are separated by the common spaces: living room, dining room, and kitchen. The height of the house allowed us to free up an intermediate space, a small loft to watch movies, read or accommodate guests.
We honoured the heritage of the place by restoring and integrating pieces such as window sills, fireplaces, and doors. Through delicate work, we removed the layers of enamel paint from the doors until they showed their beautiful, original oak wood, we did the same with the doors and bronze handles on the doors. The fireplaces were cleaned and subjected to a treatment based on waxes and varnishes to allow them to shine, but at the same time leaving their small cracks in plain sight, to reflect on the passage of time.
