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    Lucas y Hernández Gil adds multi-use greenhouse to Madrid bungalow

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    A renovated 1970s bungalow with “kitsch character” and a greenhouse that doubles as a living room feature in Casamontesa – a weekend home designed by Spanish studio Lucas y Hernández Gil.

    The project began when a couple asked the studio to overhaul a single-storey house that was once part of a hotel complex on the outskirts of Madrid.
    The renovated bungalow and a multifunctional greenhouse (above) make up CasamontesaThe brief later expanded to include a multifunctional greenhouse that can be used as a workspace, a guest bedroom, a gym or simply as a garden room.
    Lucas y Hernández Gil, led by architects Cristina Domínguez Lucas and Fernando Hernández-Gil Ruano, developed a distinct character for each building.
    The main house is a bungalow built in the 1970sCasamontesa’s renovated bungalow has a warm, playful style that draws on the 1970s aesthetic while the garden pavilion has a more utilitarian feel.

    “The owners, a young urban couple who love design and live and work in the centre of Madrid, were looking for a functional and compact getaway within a fantastic garden,” Lucas told Dezeen.
    “They wanted a very comfortable and flexible home that would be useful for both working and getting together with friends.”
    The interior centres around a new kitchen islandThe bungalow renovation involved simplifying the interior layout to create a combined kitchen, dining room and living room, with a bedroom and bathroom off to one side.
    “The house, in addition to being small, was very compartmentalised,” explained Lucas.
    The materials palette includes pink marble and handmade tilesTo unify the newly open-plan living space, the designers installed an island that serves as a worktop, dining table and social gathering place.
    This island features a countertop made from Portuguese pink marble while its sides are covered in the same handmade burgundy tiles that line an adjacent window recess.
    An arched fireplace provides a focal point in the living room”The rest of the surfaces – Campaspero stone floors and waxed tinted plaster walls – establish a dialogue by contrast with the colourful and shiny surface of the tiles,” added Lucas.
    Key details in the living room include an arched fireplace and a tadelakt plaster coffee table, while the bedroom features semi-circular marble nightstands.

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    For Casamontesa’s garden room, the design team customised a prefabricated greenhouse.
    A pergola extends the building volume outwards in a bid to blur the boundary between inside and out, and is topped with wooden blinds to provide shade.
    A pergola extends the width of the greenhouseA wooden box on wheels provides an additional bedroom, described as a “small Shigeru Ban-style mobile room”.
    Other additions include thermal curtains and an automatic shading and ventilation system, which allow for versatile use of the space throughout the year.
    A “Shigeru Ban-style mobile room” provides an additional sleeping space”By complementing the programme of the original bungalow, a more complete and flexible program is achieved, overcoming the limitations of a weekend house,” added Lucas.
    Other recent projects by Lucas y Hernández Gil include a bar featuring extreme colour blocking and an apartment with a hidden closet.
    The photography is by José Hevia.

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      Tactile materials “accentuate the value of shadows” in Bolívar House

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      Spanish architect Juan Gurrea Rumeu used a palette of warm, textural materials and carefully positioned voids to create atmospheric living spaces inside this house he designed for himself and his wife in Barcelona.

      Rumeu and his wife, the Madrid-born artist Beatriz Dubois, decided to move to the architect’s home city for work after living for several years in Paris.
      Bolívar House takes up a narrow site on Barcelona’s Carrer de BolívarThey purchased a site occupied by a derelict storage building in the Vallcarca district that was affordable due to its northern aspect, narrow proportions and busy urban context.
      Bolívar House is located on the Carrer de Bolívar and is surrounded by buildings from various eras, ranging from early 20th-century art nouveau houses to industrial workshops and 1970s apartment blocks.
      Three square openings animate its street-facing facadeIn this chaotic and energetic environment, Gurrea Rumeu’s practice Gr-os – working with local architects Mercè Badal and Teresa Rumeu – sought to create a restful retreat defined by its considered use of space and light.

      “Despite its complicated urban setting, surrounded by taller buildings and heavy traffic, the interior atmosphere is surprisingly peaceful,” Gurrea Rumeu told Dezeen.
      “The position and scale of openings frames views and curates intimacy and light.”
      Dark wood was used throughout to create a sense of calmThe building itself comprises a monolithic grey box punctured by three square openings, which animate its street-facing elevation while defining views from within.
      A concrete plinth becomes a column that supports a visible steel lintel, which also acts as a recessed channel to hold utility cables as they pass across the simple frontage.
      One of the building’s structural steel columns is left exposed on each levelThe exposed beam provides a subtle ornamental detail that references the facade composition and, in particular, the decorative frieze found on a traditional residence across the street.
      The house’s exterior is rendered using a textured stucco that evokes rustic Catalan properties called masias. According to the architect, this finish adds a textural element to the otherwise minimal elevation that recalls an artist’s brushstrokes.
      The dwelling shares its long and narrow site with a multi-storey apartment building, in which Gurrea Rumeu and Dubois were able to add a studio on the basement level.

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      The studio is visible across a central courtyard separating it from the home’s kitchen and dining area, which also looks onto the lush tropical planting through a full-height opening.
      At the front of the property, a double-height concrete volume containing the garage and a stairwell provides an acoustic barrier between the living areas and the street.
      Three bedrooms and the main living room are accommodated on the first and second floors, with the bedrooms at the rear overlooking the tranquil courtyard.
      The kitchen opens onto a small courtyardDespite being a north-facing house, the design is not focused on capturing as much natural light as possible, Gurrea Rumeu explained, but rather on emphasising the moody atmosphere through careful material choices.
      “We decided to use honest and expressive materials which are pleasant for the senses and accentuate the value of shadows,” the architect pointed out.
      “In-situ concrete walls, dark walnut floors, white marble and glazed tiles create a rich atmosphere in which subtle changes of light become apparent throughout the day and the seasons.”
      Monolithic wooden staircases feature in the living room and the foyerGurrea Rumeu also used simple architectural interventions to amplify the sensorial experience within the home, with voids and openings allowing sunlight to illuminate the spaces in intriguing ways.
      Monolithic wooden staircases located in the entrance lobby and living room follow the home’s two main axes and add complexity to the circulation. Their bold presence helps to emphasise the volume of these double-height spaces.
      The majority of the building’s structure is left exposed, with services and false ceilings concentrated towards the centre of the plan.
      Concrete ceilings add a brutalist touchA central concrete core conceals the upper flights of stairs and supports the floor slabs, while one of the structural steel columns is left exposed on each level as a nod to the building’s construction.
      The columns become a feature in their respective rooms, becoming thinner higher up in the building as the load reduces.
      The property contains a limited and carefully curated selection of furniture including vintage pieces, bespoke elements and classic designs chosen for their special significance to the owners.
      Tiles complete the home’s tactile material paletteGurrea Rumeu received his master’s from the Royal College of Art in London before completing his Professional Practice diploma at the AA School of Architecture. He worked for firms in Beijing, Paris and Barcelona before establishing his own studio in 2020.
      Other recently completed homes in Barcelona include La Clara by CRÜ, which is set inside a former public laundry, and a brick extension to a 19th-century terrace house by H Arquitectes.
      The photography is by Max Hart Nibbrig.

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      Mesura furnishes Casa Vasto apartment and gallery with “constellation of objects”

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      Local studio Mesura has designed a live-work home for a gallery owner that combines exhibition space with living quarters in a former factory in Barcelona.

      Casa Vasto is situated in the city’s seaside neighbourhood El Poblenou, characterised by its 18th-century industrial buildings that were deindustrialised in the 1960s and 70s.
      Unfurnished areas serve as exhibition spaceThe apartment is located in one of these former factories and comprises two spaces – the public living and kitchen area that also houses gallery exhibitions, and the private bedroom and bathroom that are reserved solely for the owner’s use.
      A service core made from birch wood divides the space without being attached to the walls or to the ceiling, which has an unusual vaulted design characteristic of factories built in Barcelona in the 19th century. This channels services to the kitchen and bathroom components and contains a toilet, shower and storage.
      Bespoke furniture sits alongside design classicsOn one side of the core is the living and gallery space. This has plenty of space to hold exhibitions and is filled with monolithic furnishings that create functional zones, including a long dining table with cylindrical legs and a blocky stainless-steel kitchen island.

      A low, sprawling sofa defines the lounge area, which centres around a coffee table fashioned from waste material created during the apartment’s construction by designer Sara Regal.
      Low-lying furnishings underline the height of the space and the unique ceilingArtworks and furniture have been arranged throughout the space, which was curated in collaboration between the owners and Mesura.
      “The project’s interior design is reinterpreted as a constellation of unique objects detached from the apartment’s limits,” said Mesura.
      “These elements contrast with the white-washed walls and light-wood furnishings to emerge as accents of colour and form, weaving a cohesive and contemporary identity throughout the project, drawing focus to the pieces and artwork.”
      The minimalistic kitchen unit shares the central core’s oblong profileBespoke pieces custom-made for Casa Vasto are flanked by iconic design classics, such as architect Mies van der Rohe’s MR10 Chair and architect Mario Botta’s Seconda Chai.
      “Some of the interior pieces were specifically designed for the space – kitchen, dining table, service core, bathtub – and the others – sofas, chairs, lighting – were more of a process with the clients, who had their own preferences and interests,” Mesura told Dezeen.

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      Frames are hung on the walls in the bedroom, which also contains two sinks and a bathtub encased in blocky concrete volumes.
      As in the rest of the space, rectangular windows extend from floor level to let natural light into the space.
      The bed, bath and sink unit are all custom-made for the project”We think the pieces selected for the interiors create a comfortable and unique atmosphere when in touch with the bespoke furniture we designed for the project,” the studio told Dezeen.
      Other adaptive reuse apartment projects on Dezeen include an apartment in a converted bank office by Puntofilipino and a flat in a former chocolate factory by SSdH.
      The photography is by Salva López.

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      Viruta Lab blankets former fisherman’s house in Valencia with chequerboard tiles

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      Spanish interiors studio Viruta Lab has renovated a compact house in El Cabanyal, Valencia’s traditional fishing neighbourhood, using geometric blue-and-white tiling for an understated nautical aesthetic.

      Built in 1946, the humble two-storey building once belonged to the grandparents of the current owner but had been boarded up for many years.
      Viruta Lab has renovated a former fisherman’s house in ValenciaViruta Lab was brought on board to transform the small 85-square-metre home into a modern holiday residence while respecting its great sentimental value to the family.
      “Emotion was a very important starting point,” the studio told Dezeen.
      The interior is dominated by chequerboard tiles”The house is a family legacy and the image they have of it is very deep, so it was necessary for any intervention to be as respectful as possible and with a language that they understood and took as their own,” Viruta Lab continued.

      “We understood that the architecture already had a value, that we only had to beautify it, preserve it.”
      Green upholstery provides a contrast with the blue-and-white colour schemeViruta Lab uncovered the building’s original brick walls from under layers of peeling paint and carefully repaired the pre-existing mouldings “to give height and nostalgic value to the interior design”.
      Liberal chequerboard tiling provides a contrast to these traditional design details, featured throughout all the rooms from the kitchen to the sleeping quarters.
      Viruta Lab restored the home’s original mouldingsIn a suitably nautical palette of navy and off-white, the tiles reference the great variety of tiled facades found in the El Cabanyal neighbourhood.
      “The dominant colours on the facades of the Cabanyal are white, blue and green, which are associated with a lifestyle linked to the resources offered by the sea,” the studio said.

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      “It was clear that we had to respect the local traditions, the architecture and the essence of the house and give it a maritime aesthetic, reinterpreting the Mediterranean style to adapt it to the tradition of the neighbourhood using its own materials.”
      Green shows up throughout the interior in the form of simple upholstered furniture – including a sofa, pouffe, benches and stools – all custom-designed by Viruta Lab for this compact space.
      European oak was used to form joinery detailsThe interior woodwork in European oak was stained to resemble Canaletto walnut, matching the tones of the two remaining original interior doors that were painstakingly restored and repurposed as sliding doors.
      “We wanted the woodwork to provide a quality counterpoint to the cold tones of the blues and greens, with an imprint and weight,” the studio said.
      The remaining interior doors were restored and repurposed as sliding doorsAnother key local material – esparto grass fibre – is less noticeable than the tiles but pops up throughout the house to add textural interest.
      Traditionally used to make ropes, baskets, mats and espadrille sandals, the flexible natural material was repurposed to form headboards and backrests, and even clad the suspended ceilings in the bathrooms.
      Esparto grass was used to from headboards and backrests”This material has been used because of its roots in the traditions and life in the Mediterranean area, especially in the Valencian community,” the studio said.
      “For Viruta Lab, the legacy comes from its use by men of the countryside and the sea, by the original residents of the Cabanyal, those men who used to wear espadrilles.”
      The house has a shaded outdoor dining area on the roofAs well as a clay-tiled roof terrace with a shaded outdoor dining area, the house also features a sensitively restored inner courtyard, complete with a stone water trough where the owner’s grandfather once dried his fishing nets at the end of a day’s work.
      Other projects that celebrate Valencia’s historic architecture include a 1920s penthouse that was renovated to celebrate its original mosaic floors and an octogenarian home in El Cabanyal that was updated using traditional construction techniques and local materials.
      The photography is by David Zarzoso.

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      Four-storey spiral staircase forms focal point of BSP20 House in Barcelona

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      A towering spiral staircase and a golden kitchen are some of the features that Raúl Sánchez Architects has introduced in its renovation of this townhouse in Barcelona’s Borne neighbourhood.

      BSP20 House has been in the making since 2013, when Raúl Sánchez Architects was approached by the building’s owners to turn it into a live-work space where they could stay during visits to the city.
      A white spiral staircase rises up from the ground floorHowever, due to regulatory issues, construction works didn’t begin for another seven years. During this period the already dilapidated building fell into further ruin, and at one point was even used as a squat.
      When the renovation finally got underway in August 2020, Raúl Sánchez Architects decided to completely gut the building, only leaving behind the four exterior walls and roof.
      This level of the home also features a brass kitchen suiteAs a result, three new floor levels have been inserted, each installed in such a way so that they don’t touch the building’s front or rear facades.

      Some of the resulting gaps have been filled with panes of glass, allowing residents to steal glimpses of different levels of the home.
      The staircase grants access to each of the home’s four levelsA huge void on the right side of BSP20’s interior now accommodates a white spiral staircase that winds up through the ground, first, second and third floors, all the way to the decked terrace on top of the building.
      Positioned directly above the stairs is a glazed opening that lets natural light filter deep into the plan.
      Rooms have largely been left empty so they can be used for different purposesSeeing the building in such a bare state at the beginning of the renovation process encouraged Raul Sanchez Architects to keep its rough, time-worn brick walls.
      “Those four walls, over 15 metres high, are a museum of the building’s history, where any trace of its construction, and of its use, will be left unaltered, exposed in all its crudeness,” said the studio.
      Raúl Sánchez Architects has preserved the building’s original brick wallsA similarly hands-off approach has been taken with the rest of the interior; most rooms have been largely left without fixtures and fittings so that, if necessary, they can be used for different purposes in the future.
      On the ground floor there is a kitchen, its cabinetry crafted from lustrous brass.
      “In terms of materiality, a certain refinement has been pursued in the new elements to be implemented, in opposition to the crude expressiveness of the existing walls, conscious that the space must house a home,” explained the studio.
      Natural light seeps in from a glazed opening above the staircaseOn the second floor there is only a bathroom lined with cream-coloured lacquered wood, finished with gold-tone hardware.
      The electrics, air-conditioning system and telephone wires have also been concealed within six steel tubes that run upwards through the home.
      Pale lacquered wood lines surfaces in the bathroomWhen it came to restoring BSP20’s facade, the practice had to follow strict heritage guidelines – but it was granted more freedom in the appearance of the front door.
      It’s now clad with three different types of aluminium, and features a graphic rhomboidal design that nods to the patterned hydraulic floor tiles seen inside the house.
      The home was given a new geometric-print front doorRaúl Sánchez Architects has completed several residential projects in its home city of Barcelona.
      Others include The Magic Box Apartment, which features a huge gold wardrobe, and Atic Aribau, which has bright, stripped-back interiors.
      Photography is by José Hevia.
      Project credits:
      Architecture: Raúl SánchezArchitecture team: Valentina Barberio, Paolo BurattiniStructure consultant: Diagonal ArquitecturaEngineering: Marés Ingenieros

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      Raúl Sánchez uses clever cutaways in house at Mas Blanch i Jové winery

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      Corten steel walls, a circular window and a big cross all feature in this house renovated by Raúl Sánchez Architects for a winery in Catalonia. Called Gallery House, the two-storey property functions as both a guesthouse and gallery for the Mas Blanch i Jové winery in La Pobla de Cérvoles. Barcelona-based Sánchez planned his renovation […] More

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      Iterare Arquitectos uses traditional materials inside Valencia's House of Giants

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      Iterare Arquitectos has used traditional construction techniques and local materials to update a 100-year-old home in Valencia with a minimalist interior. House of Giants is located in Valencia’s El Cabañal neighbourhood, which was historically populated by fishermen. The three-storey home, which belongs to a local artist and engraver, has been designed by Iterare Arquitectos to […] More