An Ingenious, Multistory Bookshelf Organizes a Sleek Madrid Home

Spanning multiple floors, the open shelves designed by Zooco Estudio morph to provide storage and define spaces.

Jul 13, 2020 - 22:00
An Ingenious, Multistory Bookshelf Organizes a Sleek Madrid Home

Spanning multiple floors, the open shelves designed by Zooco Estudio morph to provide storage and define spaces.

Given the home's tight and efficient footprint, the architects sought to use simple materials and strategic moves to delineate different spaces and uses. The lower ceiling height of the living room, for example, distinguishes it from the dining area, which has a taller ceiling.

When Madrid- and Bilbao-based design firm Zooco Estudio was tasked with a complete renovation of a semi-detached home in the northwest part of Madrid, they "sought to achieve a feeling of openness and visual communication between the different areas of the house."

Given the home's tight and efficient footprint, the architects sought to use simple materials and strategic moves to delineate different spaces and uses. The lower ceiling height of the living room, for example, distinguishes it from the dining area, which has a taller ceiling.

Given the home’s tight and efficient footprint, the architects sought to use simple materials and strategic moves to delineate different spaces and uses. The lower ceiling height of the living room, for example, distinguishes it from the dining area, which has a taller ceiling.

Photo by Imagen Subliminal

But at just over 1,600 square feet parceled out over four floors (including the basement) with narrow footprints, accommodating this goal for the owners—a family of three—was a challenge. To do so, the architects decided to focus the more public, communal areas of the home around a single element that could carry through multiple spaces and even traverse distinct floors: a bookshelf whose function changes depending on its location and dimensions. 

Because the dining space is double height, installing lighting at the correct level so that it provides the right amount of light but doesn't distract from the space's proportions is critical. Zooco hung multiples of the same fixture at different heights.

Zooco Estudio hung multiple light fixtures at different heights to avoid distracting from the proportions of the double-height dining area. 

Photo by Imagen Subliminal

As soon as you enter the home, the all-white shelf winds its way throughout the space. "It functions as a wardrobe at the entrance, to store music in the TV area, and as a tableware display in the dining room," explains Zooco Estudio. As both a storage unit and a physical divider, the shelf allows for visual connection between spaces—joining the entry and dining area, for example.

The kitchen's white oak cabinetry, including at the island, riff off the oak flooring. The floor, countertops, and hood are all white.

The kitchen’s white oak cabinetry and island riff off the oak flooring in the rest of the house. By contrast, the floor, countertops, and hood are all white.

Photo by Imagen Subliminal

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