82 Apartments block in Atocha, Madrid P-29
1st Prize Competition 2003 Completion 2008
Housing in a hostile environment
Maximum functional efficiency
Maximum functional efficiency
The project for the construction of 82 apartments building block near the railway tracks of Atocha station, the main train station connecting Madrid with the south of Spain, presents the challenge of building residential use in a hostile environment. Having analyzed the context, we proposed a single facade building, giving its back to the railroad tracks and facing towards the city in the south. Following this strategy, the North facade is treated as a buffer zone. In this area, distribution corridors and kitchens work as a visual and acoustic buffer, reducing the exposure of the apartments to the railway tracks urban void.
Despite being a high-rise building, the circulation strategy designed, allowed to keep the circulation areas ratio low quite low, showing similar figures to low-rise buildings.
