wooden curved casings frame domestic scenes within home in madrid

Estudio Gonzalo del Val + Toni Gelabert revive historical building

CUARTO BOCEL/QUARTER ROUND, designed by Estudio Gonzalo del Val + Toni Gelabert, remodels a centuries-old home in Madrid‘s Chamberí neighborhood. The design showcases an interplay of curves and contours that artfully delineate and distinguish four distinct domestic settings within the layout. The apartment is photographed by José Hevia.

The residential building, originally constructed for the Marqués de Amurrio between 1925 and 1927, bears the signature of architect Gustavo Fernández Balbuena. Balbuena, renowned as the founder and director of the Arquitectura magazine in 1918—a publication that remains one of Europe’s oldest active architectural magazines—contributed significantly to the architectural landscape of the era. The building is listed on Madrid’s heritage inventory due to its architectural value and historical significance.

The complex’s volume features an inviting street-facing courtyard, following the sanitation strategies of the time that aimed to mitigate the dark and poorly ventilated interior courtyards, common in the period’s architectural designs due to intensive urban development. Consequently, housing floors often stretched extensively, with wet areas confined to the interior, typically located near the secondary entrance used by domestic staff.

all images by José Hevia

Curves and Contours Create Visual Dynamics within the home

The project’s main objectives focus around the new owner’s need for contemporary livability and the incorporation of a remote working space into the domestic setting. The design team proposes four distinct scenarios outlined by openings and partitions that organize the main spaces—bedrooms, living room, kitchen, and workspace.

Each of these volumes is crafted with a unique geometry tailored to the circulation and functional requirements of the home. Two-flared geometric thresholds offer access while framing events in the living room and kitchen. An ambulatory pathway, crossing existing openings in the load-bearing wall, optimizes circulation, resulting in two equally sized rooms and additional storage space. Finally, a generously proportioned table adapts its geometry to the available space at the main entrance, transforming the hall into a compact office or studio.

To define the finishes, the proposal calls for the dismantling of the previous state while preserving the identity of the historic home, including elements like the plaster coffered ceiling and herringbone quartering on the floor. However, the features are altered and distorted in their geometries and dimensions. Architectural elements come together to construct a visual tapestry of curves and contours. These elements separate and distinguish the various domestic scenes within the home.

Estudio Gonzalo del Val + Toni Gelabert compose an interplay of curves and contours within the layout