raw and unfinished, HANGHAR's rio house in madrid offers residents a 'naked scenario'

RIO HOUSE BY HANGHAR

‘Rio House’ by HANGHAR responds to Madrid’s affordable housing crisis by providing a raw, unfinished interior that allows its inhabitants to renovate their home within a limited budget and while saving on building costs. ‘The average cost of a home in Madrid is beyond the reach of most people, a crisis which is defining the lives of many generations,’ explains the local studio. ‘The project is located in the rapidly-gentrifying neighborhood of Carabanchel, where, due to the affordable housing crisis the city is currently suffering, many citizens are moving to.’

The apartment presents a ‘blank canvas’ through a simple but refined materiality that includes reflective, continuous epoxy resin flooring, raw aluminum, steel L-beams and pillars, and ceramic tiling. ‘This naked scenario poses the possibility of allowing future interventions to occur and distances itself from market-driven logics in which finishes and fittings make for a large percentage of the developer’s profit,’ notes HANGHAR.

all images by Luis Díaz Díaz

A RAW AND UNFINISHED APARTMENT IN MADRID

HANGHAR’s Rio House is organized through a grid-like system of steel L-beams and pillars, which delimitates the hierarchy between tpublic and private areas. Clad in raw aluminum, a technically equipped wall contains the plumbing, electrical cabling and storage for both the kitchen and the bathroom. This wall sets an abstract background that reflects not only light, but also the domestic activities that occur around a large, monolithic working surface.

The apartment features continuous, reflective epoxy resin flooring, which contrasts with the ‘grotesque’ and cavernous presence of the splashed plaster ceiling. Durable and waterproof ceramic tiling clads the kitchen’s working station and bathroom. The environment, grey and monotonous, a result of the ‘nakedness’ of the space, is elevated with limited detailing in local red marble.

the technically equipped wall clad in raw aluminum