James & Mau: San Vicente Ferrer

Madrid-based architecture studio James & Mau have recently completed the renovation of a residential building in the Spanish capital. The intervention sought to mimetise the historical characteristics of the surrounding buildings, albeit with a contemporary twist.

"The volume of the building was already defined, so it was necessary to use the resultant area," explain architects Jaime Gaztelu and Mauricio Galeano, who worked within the constraints of building regulations inside historical neighborhoods."We stuck to the constraints by using a modern technique of ventilated façades," say the architects, who point out how the many openings respect and evoke the traditional compositions around the building.

Thus, a perforated cor-ten steel frame covers the building's façade, incorporating a series of openings that reveal the large glass windows. The cor-ten façade creates a double, climatising façade which takes in the winter sun, while ventilating and protecting the building from high temperatures in the summer, much like a moorish courtyard.

Inside, white brick walls and sweeping glass surfaces share space with small, out-of-scale details, such as an interior courtyard invaded by nature. The building features four 50 square metre apartments, and two 75 square metre residences.

James & Mau: San Vicente Ferrer
Architects: James & Mau
Location: Madrid, Spain
Project Area: 504 square metres
Program: four 50 square metre apartments and two 75 square metre apartments
Contractor: Arbohor Investors S.L.
Completion: 2012