Military Houses

Description

This project, located in the centre of Madrid, is the result of an unusual commission from a military officer who, looking for an architect outside the military establishment, asked his son, a second-year architecture student, for help to find an architect. After consulting his colleagues, he recommended a young architect called Fernando Higueras. The project presented in response to the commission was characterised by a high degree of formal expressiveness. A strong exposed concrete building, reminiscent of Brutalist architecture, is softened by the presence of plants hanging from the balconies, which partially block the view of the street from the inside and make the building more pleasant in the urban environment. The building adapts to the external boundary of the site, respecting the urban morphology and creating an internal courtyard that progressively widens to provide adequate ventilation for all the residential units. The building is designed with porticos parallel to the façade, with half the number of columns on the ground floor, allowing for large open commercial spaces with high ceilings. The residential units are set back from the exterior line, creating space for balconies that not only provide shade in the summer, but also help to keep the constant street noise out of the living space. The multi-storey car park, which occupies 4 underground levels, is provided with natural light and ventilation by means of circular openings in the floor of the courtyards. This inhabited hanging garden is an example of Higueras’ outstanding and heterodox architectural style, which has always focused on the comfort and enjoyment of the people who live there, regardless of current trends in style.