Architects: Ignacio Frade
Area: 538 ft²
Year: 2023
Photographs: DEL RIO BANI
Manufacturers: Northdeco
Lead Architect: Ignacio Frade
Program: Office
City: Madrid
Country: Spain
Naturanda, designed by Ignacio Frade, is a transformed 50 m² commercial space in Madrid. The project optimizes the small area for multiple uses through geometric adaptation and bespoke furniture. Structural interventions addressed unforeseen issues, revealing and integrating original mid-20th-century elements like plaster moldings and terrazzo floors. The design harmoniously blends old and new, enhancing habitability and flexibility while respecting the space’s cultural roots.
The transformation of commercial premises with a reduced surface area was required to optimize a small 50 m² space for various simultaneous uses. The intervention is based on maximum purification and the incorporation of bespoke furniture elements that relate to each other. The geometric adaptation of these pieces creates synergies around a pillar, allowing for different spatial configurations and eliminating obstacles.
During the construction process, structural interventions were necessary due to unforeseen problems discovered from previous works. Two metallic pillars, concealed in a partition wall, lacked continuity with the upper floors and were poorly executed to cover an existing gap connecting to the first floor. To ensure functionality and respect for the building, a structural solution was implemented, cleaning up the space and exposing and integrating a new beam.
The project also recovered surprising elements discovered after demolition, such as plaster moldings found when removing the false ceiling, and an in situ terrazzo floor hidden under a low-quality floor. The free height of the premises, belonging to a 1940s building, was restored. This approach reduces environmental impact by recycling and reusing these forgotten elements, restoring the space’s lost essence and promoting its cultural roots.
Original mid-20th-century pieces are integrated with new project elements in a contemporary key. The dialogue between the new and old respects and enhances the space, improving habitability by utilizing the full height and achieving flexibility in the now open-plan space, thanks to the structural intervention. The design also incorporates the corporate color in specific elements, unifying the proposal’s language.
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Project Location
Address: Madrid, Spain
Location is for general reference and may represent a city or country, not necessarily a precise address.
