A 1930s building in Madrid’s San Diego neighbourhood of Puente de Vallecas provided the perfect springboard for architect Bilbo Garcia-Conde to create his home. While the Spanish architect had envisioned a warehouse for his wife, Itziar, and three dachshunds, Lio, Gilda and Pipa, the unassuming two storey brick structure had a lot going for it. “What attracted me was that it was a corner property with metres of façade, and very close to the centre of Madrid,” recalls one of the founding trio behind CDP Arquitectos.
His approach shifted given the different set of parameters. “I was looking for a warehouse to build a loft, but here in Madrid, the transition from commercial to residential use is complicated,” Garcia-Conde explains. His unorthodox solution was to buy a building and put a warehouse on top. “The process was ruled by not looking at how much I was spending, but by just doing whatever I wanted,” the architect of the two-year renovation laughs.
Within a sheet metal-clad addition is a combined kitchen, living and dining room, and a powder room, which opens onto a terrace with a pool. These spaces are defined by five-metre-high ceilings enclosed by a gable roof. “I modified the structure of the house several times until I liked the multi- tubular structure of the living room roof and the colour scheme. I wanted to avoid repetition and for everything to blend seamlessly,” Garcia-Conde admits.
In the living space, Tintin’s rocket brings a sense of fun to the colourful living room that features Huguet Mallorca terrazzo floors and a fireplace bought from Los Angeles by Palm. A Camaleonda sofa by Mario Bellini, Arflex Marenco sofa by Mario Marenco and a Jieldé LOFT D9406 floor lamp are positioned around a glass coffee table that’s actually a bed by Dutch industrial designer Wim Rietveld. The painting is by Nacho Torra.
The original part of the building houses three bedrooms, each with a corresponding bathroom and dressing room. “We kept the original façade, retaining and improving the doors and some details,” the architect says. Below is a rental apartment with an exterior entrance, the foyer, a two-car garage and a laundry. A colourful mural adorns the walls at ground level. “I asked some friends, Twee Muizen, to paint something to do with each street,” he explains.
The interiors are equally playful and nostalgic. “The style is space-age, as the original two storey house was built in the year Neil Armstrong was born,” Garcia-Conde says, adding, “and it was renovated in 2019, which coincided with the 50th anniversary of the moon landing.” And indeed, a three-metre rocket ship takes pride of place in the main space. “One of my fondest memories is a Tintin rocket my father made for my brother and me as a Christmas present,” he recalls. “Since I couldn’t bring it home, I ordered a much larger one from a carpenter friend in the Canary Islands, where my parents live.
The house allowed Garcia-Conde the opportunity to truly express himself. “I wanted this house to be a reminder of my childhood memories, with lots of colour,” the architect says. He has curated an unexpected mix of materials with vintage furniture, both found and collected. The bedrooms feature beds made by his father, Koto, an architect and sometime carpenter, while his great-uncle’s plan drawers are utilised in the living room. “My influences are my childhood, hence my mother’s colour and the happiness she naturally exudes,” Garcia-Conde explains.
The result is unique to Garcia-Conde and the surrounding area. “A project that’s original stands the test of time; if not, as soon as it goes out of style, it’s completely out of fashion,” the architect says. Both inside and out, this bold clash of colour, materials and styles layered with personal flourishes is anything but derivative. “If I had done it in another neighbourhood, it would be totally different,” Garcia-Conde says. It simultaneously references the working-class suburb within which it’s located and his favourite era to deliver a refreshingly individual home.
WORDS Alexandra Gordon
PHOTOGRAPHY Daniel Shäfer
@estliving
