#UpHouse
by cumuloLimbo studio

#UPHouse, designed by cumuloLimbo studio and located in Madrid, is the tail of a simple operation: the introduction of a space of intimate scale into another space, which, being domestic, is exposed and social.

The project adds 50% more area to the apartment by installing a light steel structure and a staircase that allows access to the new upper floor and divides the apartment into two spaces, a private and a public function.

This new level is built on top of the central and only closed room of the apartment, the restroom, leaving two double-height spaces on each side of it. One bigger and public on the east side and a smaller and more private one on the west side.

The choice of materials for these two spaces reflects this duality. On one hand, in the private vaulted area, the walls and doors are covered with recycled plywood. On the other hand, white walls reflect light from the patio.

The client received boxes containing old electronic equipment at his work, and they were throwing them away. The architects suggested keeping the boxes instead. In two months more than 100 lids were prepared and used for the cladding. Sporting individual stamps, no two of them were the same.

The public area of the apartment, a flexible space that includes the kitchen, has an open floor plan and opens to a small east-oriented patio that gets morning light.

In order to maximise natural light in the new upper level, they built a mirror-faced wood vault on the private side of the house - the studio or work area. Natural light is reflected and multiplied with a great visual effect.

As many ground-level apartments, the lack of light was one of the major hurdles.

They designed and programmed it in order to orient each one of the slats of the vault towards the window with a specific angle.

The initial design understood the ground floor as an open and more public space, and the new upper floor as an intimate room.

Instead, they convinced the clients to just add a very light structure that would leave two double-height spaces on each side of the house, adding fewer square meters but allowing natural light to get into the new floor.

Once the project was finished the clients thanked the architects for insisting on this: “We felt so good about it cause the light was amazingly amplified in the house thanks to this decision”

Through clear, simple and well thought out spatial operations, cumuloLimbo created a contemporary home, bright and full of character.

Author cumuloLimbo studio (Natalia Matesanz Ventura)
Location Madrid, Spain
Year 2018
Surface 60 sqm
Photography Javier de Paz
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