Original Nolla Tile Set the Tone for the Renovation of This 1950s Madrid Home

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Project Details:

Location: Madrid, Spain

Architect: Nula.Studio / @nula.studio

Footprint: 2,873 square feet

Photographer: Asier Rua / @asierrua

Photographer: Elena Salas / @olea.photo

From the Architect: "A 1950s home, located in the Colonia de la Unión Eléctrica in Madrid, was the starting point for this renovation project, guided by a clear premise: to change everything without changing anything.

"A fragmented Nolla floor on the main level shaped an intervention strategy based on three actions: preserve, recover, and fill. This approach, applied across all scales of the project, translates into a layered logic that allows time to be read without erasing it. The incomplete fragments of the flooring have been preserved as testimony of the past, details that refer to its original configuration are recovered, and the voids are filled with neutrality. The project is, ultimately, the sum of these three operations: a seam that weaves together what was and what is.

"To these actions, one final element should be added: color. Chromatic selection is used as a differentiating device, following the same hierarchy principle as the original mosaic: a neutral background that acts as a unifying base, over which special elements stand out through contrast and material singularity. This combination of strategies is expressed throughout all elements of the home, from structural components such as the wooden ceilings and double-height spaces through closures such as original wooden windows and French doors, and to decorative elements such as wrought-iron grilles or the staircase railing."