House in Somosaguas, Madrid Architecture

House in Somosaguas (Madrid) 2008- Joaquin Torres, Architect The spanish architecture firm A-cero, directed by Joaquin Torres, has built a new house in the Madrid outskirts that synthesizes the evolution of the studio’s signature design language and its technical experimentation over the last years. The house can be aesthetically inscribed in the series of projects made by the studio since its international expansion, in places like the Dominican Republic and Dubai, presenting a greater spatial complexity and and use of shapes that underlines the relation between A-cero’s architecture and contemporary sculpture. At first impression the house clearly shows its intentions, with the dominance of stylized curves and bold shapes that relate harmonically to its natural context while keeping a clearly modern character. The horizontal shapes pile up one on another, creating a stratified building that seems to emerge from the earth like a natural formation, the façades are treated with a texturized dark concrete, completing the mineral analogy. In this capacity of being at once natural in its matter and artificial in its forms, the house reminds of the work of minimalist sculptors like David Nash, or a piece of land art. The interior contains a varied program, solved with a very complex array of spaces with different heights and levels, as well as the particular shape of some of the rooms. The lower level contains the main hall -covered by a curved ceiling that accentuates its relevance-, living and dining rooms, master bedroom, gym, interior pool, kitchen and service areas. On the upper level is located a painting studio, under a long curved ceiling, flooded with natural light and the best views over the surrounding landscape. The basement is dedicated to health and leisure, with a bar, games room, chill out, massage room, projection room, cellar and gym. The spaces are freed of columns and other elements that would alter its fluidity and openness, light materials have been used in the interior design to improve this aspect. The floors are covered with large format white ceramic tiles and the bathrooms are finished in white aluminum. House in Somosaguas, Madrid images / information from A-CERO Architects 27/281008