C4 HOUSE _ HYPERFLEX

Hyperflex is the title of the renovation and extension house project located in a 50’s colony in the district of Carabanchel, Madrid. It is a unit of the typical peripheral colonies of the time, a two-storey terraced row house, with a gable roof and a courtyard at the back of the plot.

The house in its original state has 70 m2, an excess of compartmentalization, lack of natural lighting and ventilation, in addition to insufficient insulation and equipment

The concept was born from the need to create an optimal and essential place both in space and ma-terial resources, which can be adapted to the needs of its inhabitants over time. To achieve this, we propose a strategy in a series of operations in steps that we devise together with our clients.

HYPERFLEX IN FIVE STEPS

1. Empty the volume, decompartmentalizing it, thus generating air and light to be able to design.
2. Expand it, increasing the volume built on the first floor, attaching half volume to the party wall and the other half symmetrical projected as an outdoor patio.
3. Dematerialize it, opening the rear facade to the courtyard with a large glass surface that can be opened and closed, totally or partially.
4. Design “the fixed”, which cannot be moved, the server spaces.
5. Designing “the flexible”, the negative, the spaces served.

After the emptying and enlargement of the original volume, the only element that remains is the staircase, which is located in the center of the space, between two load-bearing walls. From there, “the fixed” is designed, a series of pieces such as the not-kitchen-kitchen and the bathrooms.
The not-kitchen-kitchen blurrs the boundaries between cooking and living along 6.20 linear meters. It is composed of three volumes that dematerialize longitudinally, going from cabinet to furniture, from furniture to shelving and finally, from shelving to low table. These volumes are built in pine wood with a partial tile front that projects the natural light into the space.
The cabin bathroom is located under the staircase between its load-bearing walls, optimal and com-plete, making the most of the only space that remains closed on the first floor.
The gallery bathroom, on the second floor, is designed in individual parts. At one end of the gallery a closed volume contains the toilet, at the other end, other volume contains the shower; between them, two triangular countertops and circular sinks complete the set. This space is typologically orig-inal, covered itself in bright white tiles, sand-colored grout and plants of different sizes, thus reinter-preting the classic image of a gallery.
Lastly, and as a negative of the space, “the flexible” is indirectly designed. It can be a place of rest, work, meeting, room, dining room, playground, dressing room, yoga, or simply a chill space. These activities may or may not occur simultaneously, responding to the concept of hyper-flexibility, origin and zero point of the project.