The raw and basic materiality is contrasted with the aluminium finish of this partition, which reflects both the light and the domestic activities taking place in the room; the reflective epoxy resin floor and the red marble details, which elevate the grey and monotonous atmosphere.
Casa Rio by HANGHAR. Photograph by Luis Díaz Díaz.
Description of project by HANGHAR
The average cost of housing in Madrid is beyond the reach of most people, a crisis that is affecting the lives of many generations. The project is located in the gentrified neighbourhood of Carabanchel, where, due to the city's current affordable housing crisis, many citizens are moving out.
The project addresses this situation by providing an unfinished space that allows inhabitants to renovate their home on a limited budget and save construction costs. This bare scenario raises the possibility of allowing for future interventions and moving away from mercantilist logics in which finishes and fittings account for a large percentage of the developer's profit.
The original layout of the flat is maintained and amplified by the construction of a technically equipped wall containing the plumbing, electricity and storage for the kitchen and bathroom. Covered in aluminium, this wall establishes an abstract backdrop that reflects not only the light, but also the domestic activities that occur around a large, monolithic work surface. The structure of the house, a grid system of I-beams and steel pillars, organises the space and delimits the hierarchy between public and private areas.
The materiality is raw and basic. The continuous floor of reflective epoxy resin contrasts with the cavernous, unfinished presence of the sprayed plaster ceiling. The kitchen work surface and bathroom are tiled with simple ceramic tiles: durable and waterproof. The grey, monotonous ambience, the result of the bareness of the space, is elevated by limited red marble details.
