This Unconventional Madrid Penthouse Has a Bathtub in the Living Room
Spanish architect Gonzalo Pardo, principal of Madrid–based Gon Architects, has transformed the attic of a four-story building in Madrid’s Conde Duque district into G House—a vibrant and enchanting bachelor pad. Pardo demolished all the apartment's partition walls and created social spaces by using furniture to define the interior layout.
The apartment enjoys plenty of natural light thanks to numerous outdoor spaces—including a 33-foot-long balcony garden to the north, and two terraces to the south that are accessible via the bedroom and the dining area.
A staircase leads up along a bright blue wall to the 1,313-square-foot abode. A kitchen, dining, and living area lies to the right of the entrance stairs, while a bedroom and study are on the left.
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In the middle of the apartment is a pine-clad volume that hides storage, and a white Corian-covered bathroom, which leads to an all-black dressing room.
"The storage system, a wooden chest-cabinet that occupies the center of the house, is the link between both worlds. It is an element of play: It hides a secret access to the bathroom between its doors, setting the scene of a place for surprise and mystery in the house," says Pardo.
On the north side of the apartment is a built-in, sunken, white mosaic bathtub awash in light streaming in from overhead skylights and a row of large windows. Plants on the narrow balcony outside the windows provide privacy.
The bathroom and dressing area is accessed through a threshold beyond the bathtub.
"While the actions of cooking, eating, sleeping, relating, working, or resting take place in a free environment defined by the shape and position of objects in the room, cleaning and body care are carried out in a set of connecting rooms in the heart of the house," says Pardo.
"This house considers also real and imagined aspects: It is now projected as a diffuse space, free of partitions, where the boundaries between rooms are blurred so that any unexpected events can happen," says Pardo.
According to Pardo, "hedonism and pleasure" were the two concepts that guided most of his design decisions when renovating this attic penthouse.
The flexible and open layout allows Pardo to enjoy time alone or with friends—sitting by the fireplace in winter, soaking in the tub with the windows open in spring, or relaxing on the balcony and watching the stars on a warm summer night.
Project Credits:
Architect of Record, Interior Designer: Gon Architects
Builder: Serviteco Obras S.L
Collaborators: Alejandro Sánchez, Clara Dios
Kitchen: Vonna
Wood Carpentry: Alma Ebanistería sl
Photography: Imagen Subliminal
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