House and Atelier at El Escorial. Madrid, Spain

2000

On the Abantos mountain slope at El Escorial, facing south, appears the house and atelier for the artist Leandro Antolí.

Sleeping, eating, working and living. These four activities plus a phisical context shape four units. Each of them is folded in order to answer the surroundings, and the program.

That way, the resting zone becomes a very introverted space, contrasting the other three parts that are widely open to the outside. The painting space receives north light, and a flat view of the mountain, while the living spaces are open to the sun and the views of the valley that reaches Madrid city.

The four folded elements lean on a stone base that solves the contact with the strong slope, conecting the inside to the garden, and providing outside spaces.

A ventilated fassde built with fenolic wooden panels is used only in the parts where it is most necessary, and that is east and west fassades, against the most perpendicular sun. The roofs have, for the same reason, ventilated cover.

The project is, at the same time, caring about the outside factors such as sun and topography, and interior factors such as functional use and conections. The dinamic generation of the wrapping, the folding elements, is a way of understanding both aspects that operate each other, and are separated by a thin skin, that freezes in an agreement state between both parts. Function and context talking…

Architects: Ignacio Borrego y Fernando Borrego
Developer: Private
Construction: 1999 – 2000
Surveyor: Raúl González
Built area: 220 m2
Budget: 132.000 € (21.900.000 ptas)