Distrito Chamartín, Madrid, Spain
Alejandro and Edgar Bueso-Inchausti and Pablo Rein from the Madrid studio of Bueso-Inchausti & Rein Arquitectos constructed this new multi-unit apartment complex for Martell Investments on a narrow plot of land on Paseo de la Habana overcoming a number of peculiar design challenges that made it difficult to find a satisfactory solution for the project: a small foot-print, enclosed between higher adjacent buildings and uneven terrain in the northern boundary.
If the building were to be aligned with the street, developing three housing units on the standard floor would mean that the dwellings would face parallel facades, too close and too unattractive.
For this reason, the architects decided to rotate the building 45 degrees to minimize visibility and control sun exposure.
In addition, the large gap would largely enclose the first residential level so a great height on the arcaded ground floor was negotiated with the city council, raising the first floor and giving the open common area monumentality.
Faithful to the philosophy of the studio, which seeks the beauty of the form through the function it serves, from the objective of articulating the spaces with the freedom that an organic development provides, the volume of the building was gradually carved, based on its size and proportions, as a sculptural object in which the direct relationship between volumes and textures emphasizes its perception as such.
The eleven dwellings that make up the complex have a fairly free floor plan organization, achieving the spatial richness provided by a concavity in architecture, in a convex object, and providing privacy, both in interior and exterior spaces.
Constructively, the use of concrete, stone, steel, glass, and wood, always linked to a function and the form that derives from it, contributes to a clear reading of the studied geometry and proportions of the object.
Project: Paseo de la Habana 75
Architects: Bueso-Inchausti & Rein Arquitectos
Lead Designers: Alejandro and Edgar Bueso-Inchausti and Pablo Rein
Client: Martell Investments
