In Madrid, a Warehouse Turned Residence Is an Act of Preservation

Houses We Love: Every day we feature a remarkable space submitted by our community of architects, designers, builders, and homeowners.

Project Credits:

Location: Madrid, Spain

Architect: Burr Studio / @burr.studio

Structural Engineer: TQE Engineers

Footprint: 1,300 square feet

From the Architects: "Blasón is part of a project series called ‘Elements for Industrial Recovery, a strategic toolset to protect the city’s industrial heritage.

"Industrial activity in the center of the city of Madrid has gradually decreased in the last 30 years to end up in the current situation: a foreseeable disappearance. Current urban planning regulations encourage property owners to change the land use from industrial to residential, which requires a reduction in the usable area, leading to the demolition of part of their properties: the warehouses. Our proposals aim to become a strategic toolset to protect the industrial heritage of the city through land-use and occupation alternatives that allow to extend this typology’s life and avoid its demolition.

"Blasón is organized along a large wall: a central spine that separates the more public areas from the more private ones. As different elements adhere to the wall, they cause ledges, gaps, abutments and buttresses. All these projections adapt to the functions that each space requires, becoming for example a support structure for the kitchen or a platform on which two sections of a metal staircase lean to give access to a study. The openings that appear along the wall lead to the bedrooms and bathrooms, separated from the more public areas used as a garage, gym, kitchen, dining room or living room.

"Blasón is the home and studio of the writer Juan Ramón Silva Ferrada."