HTM 

The project is part of the urban regeneration of the area known as “Sierra Toledana” developed by the Municipal Housing and Land Office of Madrid. The main idea is to generate an attractive, bright and sunny interior courtyard. In order to achieve so, the volume of the St. Baltasar street separates from its neighbor in its west façade, allowing the light and sun to reach the interior of the block communal area.
The topographic adaptation of the volumes allows the offset of the different heights of the streets and solves both the pedestrian and vehicular access. The main access is remarked by separating the main volume and the core, forming a vacuum in the south wall. The void opens the courtyard to the street, marks the entrance to the ensemble and allows a pedestrian to cross the block through the courtyard garden.
The project shows itself as two white compact volumes with shutters of the same color, which, when closed, will give uniformity to the façade, as if it was a smooth continuum. Along with the main volumes we can see the vertical communication cores, which go up to the penthouses and unify with them physically and visually.
Based on a clear and convincing compositional order, the contrast is produced between the main, massive and opaque volumes and the transparency and permeability of the communication cores, based on a tension wire mesh.
The main image is the access to the plot, where the vertical communications core separates itself from the main volume creating a space between them that gives access to the housing complex.
The housing layout offers dual interior-exterior orientation and gives answer to the relationship with the yard: the living spaces and bedrooms look outside and can be connected together as a single space, giving flexibility and adaptation to the changing user needs.