Witiza Apartment

The historic Tercio y Terol quarter was designed by Rita Fernández Queimadelos and constructed during the 1940s in the Carabanchel area of Madrid.

Originally a Francoist social housing project for families of limited means, it is now protected as part of Madrid’s urban heritage.

Having been designed with a family of eight in mind, in its original state, it was highly compartmentalised, and included a back garden intended for growing fruit and vegetables or keeping poultry.

However, as the unit currently houses only one young couple, who also frequently work from home, space has been reconfigured to meet their needs: they like to entertain, and wanted to create an open, welcoming atmosphere.

While respecting the external dimensions of the unit as originally designed, and maintaining the original façades, the remodeling project set out to create a more continuous space within those dimensions, introducing a natural flow from the patio to the ground floor to the floor above.

The renovation of the space can be detected in a new geometry, which incorporates curved elements, and a new distinctive colour scheme for each floor.

On the first floor, a centrepiece is provided by the support structure for the three-sloped roof. Independent of this feature, there is a curved partition that separates the bedroom and studio.

The ‘visual noise’ of the space has been significantly reduced by getting rid of the skirting boards, using hidden doorframes, and limiting the number of different materials on view.