La Madriguera (The Burrow) in Madrid by DelaVegaCanolasso Architects.

La Madriguera’s (The Burrow) essence is captured through a silver oculus of brushed galvanised steel. An eye that is designed to confuse and protect, carefully controls how occupants and outsiders consume their environment. This quiet moment reflects the design intentions of Madrid based DelaVegaCanolasso Architects, whose project is their introverted answer to the “failures of today’s architecture… An architecture that has forgotten the importance of privacy and has succumbed to exhibitionism”.

The architects have constructed the compact 50-square metre house as “a lair, a hideout, a shelter”, where occupants within the home and its surrounding gardens become consumed within a private world. A lush landscape of tall trees and climbing plants continue their green carpet across the surface of a stone wrapped pond. The garden feels immense in scale, expanded by the adjacent mirrored wall, split open by the star of the design – the oculus opening. DelaVegaCanolasso challenge the conventions of a window. It is no longer a gateway that invites the outside world into the home, instead, it reflects it away, creating an insular shell within. While direct views are avoided, effective lighting and ventilation are achieved in creating comfortable, cosy interiors.

The spaces in the rest of the home co-exist in the contiguous volume of a former painting workshop. Each area is indistinguishable from the next, as walls become bookshelves, lounges become a part of the dining experience and the kitchen bench becomes a shared studio space. The placement of furniture creates small microcosms of activity, each with their own unique spatial organisation and function. Custom made furniture wraps the perimeter allowing for central open space to be maximised and absorbed by whatever activity is unfolding around it.

Despite its humble size, the interiors feel open and airy due to the two skylights that bathe the space with natural light. A simple palette of pine timber and smooth white finishes creates a warm and welcoming atmosphere – a quiet escape from the noise of contemporary life. Moments of colour found in the deep greens of potted plants and the bright orange hanging pendant light inject a sense of fun into the otherwise muted design scheme.

The house is constructed with galvanised steel wrapped with recycled timber boards. Natural cork and recycled cotton act as thermal insulation beneath its outer skin.

This simple scheme by DelaVegaCanolasso proves once again that clever, environmentally conscious design can be achieved in all spaces – even the small ones!

[Images courtesy of DelaVegaCanolasso Architects. Photography by Imagen Subliminal (Miguel de Guzmán + Rocío Romero). Bathroom photos by Pilar Cano-Lasso.]