The residential building was built in Madrid in 2012. The construction site is located in the northeastern part of the Spanish capital, near the Barajas airport. Interestingly, the airport is located directly within the city, only 14 km from its central square. In recent years, the area around the airport has begun to develop intensively, filling with modern, bold architecture as opposed to the default conservative historic center. Today it is a powerful urbanized area, in which the appearance of even such an unusual residential building will hardly surprise anyone. However, the authors of the project, Spanish architects from Oficina de Arguitectura_ C. L. P. tried to give the building a transitional character - from the energetic development of a noisy metropolis to a country house with a green garden and birdsong. This house, according to their plan, was to become a reminder that until recently there was a quiet countryside here.
The complex is based on a symbiosis of urban and suburban housing. The bulk of the development is made up of two large elongated rectangular blocks, which are an example of the usual multi-apartment housing with a laconic but high-quality architecture, convenient layouts and rational organization of space. The buildings are placed at right angles to each other, forming two clear edges of a spacious rectangular courtyard, the entire territory of which is occupied by as if randomly scattered blocks of 2-storey block-type residential buildings with their own garden and shed. Thus, the tall buildings seem to fence off a piece of suburban life from the bustling city with an impregnable wall.
A variety of housing typologies are offered - for large and small families leading an active and open or, on the contrary, a closed lifestyle. A total of 218 apartments are provided, of which 30 are located in 2-level townhouses. Apartment layouts in both tall buildings and townhouses are flexible. The authors wanted each space to be multipurpose and easily adaptable to the needs of the owners. A variety of typologies, placed in approximately the same shell, is externally reflected in different combinations, the interaction of volumes with each other and their location on the site. Strongly protruding canopies in front of the entrance groups, resting at the edges on high square columns, form interesting routes for movement around the courtyard, dock with each other, come close to neighboring buildings or hide from them in secluded corners. The entire space between houses and in passages under awnings has been transformed into a green garden with tall trees, neat flower beds and shrubs.
An interesting composition and play with scales is complemented by the use of special materials. Most of the facades have a material with a dark gray metallic sheen. The fact is that for their finishing it was decided to use titanium-zinc panels with a thickness of 0.80 mm under the RHEINZINK prePATINA schiefergrau brand produced by the German company RHEINZINK, one of the largest manufacturers of high-quality titanium-zinc, which is used to create spectacular and durable facades and roofs. This novelty from the German manufacturer is distinguished by the darkest surface among all representatives of the "Patina line" line. As for the properties of this material, here RHEINZINK-prePATINA schiefergrau boasts unique optics, durability, natural patina formation, increased reliability and special resistance to adverse environmental influences. In total, 75 tons of metal were used for finishing, and the desired effect was achieved thanks to a special installation technique - a corner seam. The precious metal on the walls of buildings is adjacent to extensive glass surfaces, closed by a system of thin vertical blinds. Entrance groups, painted in deep red, yellow and greenish tones, become bright accents.
As a result of this color and volumetric combination, the authors managed to achieve the utmost expressiveness of the complex as a whole. However, the project received public attention not only because of its interesting architecture and bold decision to combine two very different types of housing - this practice has been encountered before. For the Barajas region, this complex has become one of the first in a series of energy efficient houses. It provides for the rational use of sunlight, and the use of efficient materials for which the possibility of recycling is planned, and a well-thought-out ventilation system. On the south side, residential buildings and townhouses scattered around the site have a completely glass wall, which allows the maximum amount of light to enter the interior. Shading, if necessary, can be provided by blinds. Other facades are metal, two-layer, covered from top to bottom with titanium-zinc panels manufactured by RHEINZINK. Their blank walls are interrupted only by small narrow window openings. Such an interesting move allows you to minimize heat loss, provide ventilation and at the same time saturate the premises with a sufficient amount of daylight.
All this together - a compositional solution, high-quality materials and energy efficiency - distinguish this residential building favorably among ordinary buildings, forcing you to look at it with respect.
