Act first. A large square lobby-library presided over by a contemporary white microcement table, with a classic central arrangement, is the scene of welcome to the house. Second act: From there, the opening of two sliding doors reveals an imposing prism, like a stone conglomerate extracted from a quarry. It is the distinguished kitchen designed for a prestigious chef, who wanted to transfer his professional passion to the most private sphere, where he could receive his loved ones. Both rooms lead to the large living-dining room that reaches 90 m2. It is a magnificent home in Madrid renovated by architects Berta Otero and Rocío Anós Población, from Estudio Boira, for whom “architecture breathes, and is alive like the people who inhabit it.” On this occasion the house breathes in deep white, splendidly oxygenated by its 480 square meters of surface.
“The owner – Berta and Rocío explain to Magazine – wanted a social kitchen to receive. With a desire to generate an impact on the visitor and surprise them. Our construction manager called it the ‘party kitchen.’” This aspiration led them to reformulate the distribution of rooms, relocate the work kitchen and foresee the movement of caterers at events, so that they did not interfere with the guests. And on the more visible spectrum, it spurred them to conceive the large kitchen island as a landscape totemic piece, standing out against the white backdrop.
This is a home that has made a round trip. Housed in a residential building built in the sixties of the 20th century, it had been transformed into offices when the architects tackled the project. In the process of recovering its original use, they had to eliminate the labyrinth of rooms connected by infinite corridors that blurred the real scale of the house. The significant depth of the longitudinal building and its height on the first floor determined the omnipresence of the color white and the wide passages. In this way, natural light spreads to the central rooms, minimizing dark areas.
Another main aspect for the architects was “to create a flexible project with the capacity to evolve with the minimum possible work.” Aware that families grow and the inhabitants of the houses change. "We wanted to offer an image of a palatial house of our time through a classic, bourgeois envelope, with molded walls and doors, cornices, baseboards, paneled door steps..., all painted in an immaculate white, to provide more luminosity," they point out. from Boira Studio. However, the new thin and linear moldings acquire a certain discretion. And its layout seeks above all to generate rhythm and order in the long perimeter walls of the house, avoiding excessive nudity.
The steps between dependencies gain packaging with deeper thresholds. “We like to highlight transitions between rooms. They are at the same time 'equipped walls' that include shelves or cabinets and square meters of use are not lost," they clarify. The white atmosphere is based on a solid wooden base: the floor has been covered with an oak with Hungarian tip cutting of boards linked at a 45º angle. Originating in the 17th century in France, it became one of the most requested. The project reflects its classic legacy, and the ability to adapt well to the concatenation of spaces.
In choosing the furniture and decorative elements, Estudio Boira has had the collaboration of the stylist Bea Torello who has given prominence to pieces of current design. “It is a very calm decoration – the architects define – with neutral tones and natural finishes, in which touches of black and wood are introduced to contrast and break up that universe of whites.” And it includes pieces of furniture from some “20th century classics” such as seats by Pierre Jeanneret and Charlotte Perriand.
The house, in the last act, has taken a script twist: it has recently been purchased by an actress. Also a good friend to receive. The move, however, involved some reform. Although above all, he reconfirmed to Estudio Boira that their concept of a “house with the capacity to evolve” has allowed them to adapt to the new resident with minimal work.
