floating blue bookshelf centers BURR's conversion project in madrid

plug ‘n’ live architecture — BURR

to convert a former office in northern madrid into a contemporary apartment, BURR chose not to overhaul the existing layout but instead to insert a series of metal ‘plug-ins’ and wooden furniture pieces.

for the project called ‘NN06’, the experimental spanish architects first stripped back all the previous ceiling, floor and wall coverings to reveal a blank canvas. they then designed various objects and interventions to fit into the space, either hanging from the load-bearing walls or resting on the hard surfaces.

images by maru serrano

the metallic elements

the new interventions are divided into two families, distinguished by their materiality: wooden or metallic. the blue-coated metal elements hang structurally from the walls, without touching the ground. the main element is a T-shaped bookshelf located in the center of the house, which is suspended a few centimeters above the floor, hanging between the load-bearing walls of the building. aside from its main function, the bookshelf acts as a totem around which the rest of the apartment is arranged.

the remaining metallic elements comprise a gate that separates a workspace from the rest of the common space, a minibar, an interior shutter to isolate the kitchen and an exercise beam: plug-ins that allow the inhabitants to use the spaces in different ways.

the apartment used to be an office

the wooden elements

meanwhile, the wooden elements rest on the pre-existing floors, which were treated to remove a previous coating and recover a raw, structural character. the most intimate areas of the house—the bedrooms and living room—are equipped with plywood platforms that are slightly elevated above the hard floors and supported on wooden slats, similar to a tatami or tablao. these platforms can be easily removed, just like the rest of the interventions, conforming to the mobile nature of the clients.

with NN06, BURR focused on the activity of the house and its inhabitants. the project seeks to strengthen the value of movable assets rather than static ones. essentially, it aims to assist residents in their daily activities with a constellation of support elements, which also happen to create a delightfully detailed modern apartment.

the blue bookshelf acts as a central totem around which the program is arranged