OHLAB greens an urban penthouse shelter in madrid

OHLAB greens an urban penthouse shelter in madrid
image © miguel de guzmán
all images courtesy of OHLAB

despite its location in the dense city center of madrid, spanish architecture firm OHLAB have designed this penthouse as though it were a detached house. the dwelling offers a peculiar typology due to the unusual requests from the clients. the project began like a game, where the couple requested fifteen desires to be incorporated within the small rooftop space – some of which where a bit uncommon for typical urban apartments: a combined indoor/outdoor shower, breakfast with views over the city, picnic in a park, golf at home, bathing in the countryside, cooking in the middle of the house, sunset cocktail bar, dining under the stars and a theater in the living room.

the urban shelter is designed as a detached unit, provoking a series of unexpected moments
image © miguel de guzmán

the various room functions are divided by three curtains made from artificial materials, provoking a series of unexpected moments within the limited site. a ten meter white leather curtain organizes the program on the lower level – hiding or unveiling the office, kitchen and the wardrobe. covered by a gold curtain, the open shower framing madrid’s skyline helps to give a seamless transition between the inside and outside.

the curtain drawn to hide the kitchen
image © miguel de guzmán

access to the upper level is provided via a cantilevered stair, with a customized trap door that is open and closed using a counterbalanced hanging stone in the bedroom. wrap around the bedroom floor and out to the terrace is grass curtain converts the mezzanine into a small park overlooking the city.

the curtain open, exposing the kitchen
image © miguel de guzmán

the curtain can be used as a projection screen
image © miguel de guzmán

view of framed terrace
image © miguel de guzmán

bedroom upstairs with the floor door open
image © miguel de guzmán

bedroom terrace upstairs
image © miguel de guzmán

bedroom bathtub
image © miguel de guzmán

golden shower
image © miguel de guzmán

exterior golden shower
image © miguel de guzmán

diagram

project info:

photos: miguel de guzmán
architecture and interior design: ohlab / paloma hernaiz y jaime oliver
construction management: paloma hernaiz, jaime oliver
OHLAB collaborators: ana pereira, michelle james
dining room and living room paintings: pedro oliver
painting above the sofa: xavier puigmartí
furniture: muebles decágono
contractor and kitchen: estudio 44
corian sink: OHLAB design, produced by reachcarp
lighting: weber & ducré and mundolighting proporcionados por años luz
curtains: jose enrique de lucio de sotexpro
aluminum windows: aluminios aranjuez
electrical: elelux
mechanical: isaac sánchez
carpenter: ebanistería yelbal 

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.