Alcalá House

This existing apartment was divided in two different floors: at the lower floor, the 6th floor, there was a traditional existing apartment with very nice classic and historic elements, as the ceiling decorations and traditional windows, which provide a nice atmosphere and has been maintained as much as possible.

At the upper floor there was a unused attic, without any tradition, but which offered the great potential to be used as the main living space, with direct access to the roof terrace. The concept attempts to connect the two floors and to join the tradition with the modern spirit to highlight the flavour of the combination of both styles. The upper floor is completely modern, minimalistic and without traditional elements. The imposing pitched roof and the small openings domain positively the ambiance of this space, in the same time they also create low parts of the room and limited natural light. To face these problems, oblique but vertical walls (with integrated several uses like library, kitchen, cupboards, etc.) are introduced avoiding these low parts and also creating large embrasures, which are reflecting and distributing the natural light into the whole room. The complete room becomes one entire continuous space.

The kitchen, as an important element, is placed in the centre of the room, where the ceiling is high. To connect the two floors, the entrance hall, the corridor and the master bedroom at the sixth floor are also designed in the modern minimalistic way. To create a union the white colour is used for everything like walls, ceilings, floors and doors.

Alcalá House, Madrid, Spain
Program: apartment
Architects: Wespi de Meuron Romeo architects and Ábaton Arquitectura 
Interior design: Batavia
Area: 250 sqm
Completion: 2014