TAKK renovates family house in madrid with energy saving strategies and a playful approach

an environmentally conscious house in madrid

TAKK‘s ‘the day after house’ is a renovated, 110 sqm apartment in madrid that takes into account the emergence of the new climate regime and fossil fuel crisis. the project is developed with the aim of updating the domestic space according to new models of use and environmental consciousness. designed with a playful approach, the home incorporates various energy saving solutions, including the use of materials with low CO2 emissions such as wood and natural cork; and a programatic configuration that considers the climatic and environmental specificities of each space.all images by josé hevia

THREE MAIN IDEAS GUIDE TAKK’S RENOVATION

TAKK developed the renovation of ‘the day after house’ under three main ideas. the first one focuses on the functional and programatic configuration of the house and chooses to work with thermal gradients instead of a more traditional scheme based on the combination of rooms and corridors. this approach considers the climatic and environmental specificities of each space.

‘as if it were the layers of an onion, the spaces of the house get nested each one inside of another,’ explains the spanish architecture studio. ‘this operation allows us not to use corridors saving this space for the rest of the house as well as working as a method for saving energy. as we get close to the central spaces of the house, they get more and more insulated and have less needs in terms of extra energy. this kind of climatic diverse distribution is inserted on a context of energetic scarcity and a continental climate characteristic from madrid, with strong heat waves during summer and intense cold periods in the winter, and allows us to unify functional programe, climate and efficiency.’

the second idea is to prioritize the use of materials with low CO2 emissions. wood and natural cork were chosen as the main materials of the home to ensure high performance as an insulation in order to reduce energetic losses,

but at the same time have little inertia to allow the interior to warm up quickly. the third idea, which emerged for both economic and energetic reasons, was to build only half of the apartment’s total surface and empty the other half including its windows. ‘taking into account both the little resources and the madrid climate that has high temperatures most of the year, we explored the possibility of understanding the 110 sqm of the flat as an empty shoe box where we “only” built on its interior another 60 sqm perfectly thermally insulated box (winter house), leaving the spare 50 sqm as an interior terrace (summer house),’ notes TAKK. ‘what seemed a restriction on the beginning (a very low budget) turned into a multiplying element with this action. two houses for the price of one. the materiality of this “summer house” acts opposite to that of the “winter house”. the insulations on the walls, ceilings and floors are removed and the surface of these elements was finished with cement mortar that has a great inertia to capture the heat during the summer, stealing it from the interior air.’

additional material and programmatic strategies reinforce the main concept of the project, including an open configuration in the kitchen that encourages the equitable use of its space by the different members of the family. the worktop is placed at a 75cm height instead of the standard 90cm, allowing for it to be used as part of the dining table or as a desk. additionally, regardless of the number of inhabitants, the house features only a single and ‘communal’ bedroom. the big, long area incorporates different layers, allowing different ways of relation between the inhabitants.

wood and natural cork are the main materials of the house