La Maso Oculus

Madrid, Spain

In response to the client's need to enclose an outdoor patio space and renovate the dining and living room spaces of a multi-story family house, the project seeks to create a room whose character is defined by the architecture of the ceiling plane.

The project removes all existing storefront glass doors and windows that defined the patio space and lines the existing exterior walls creating large thresholds into the dining room and kitchen.

Located in a residential complex designed by renowned Spanish architect Carvajal, the new interior space is designed to function both, as part of the living and dining room spaces of the house, as well as function independently as its own spatial entity.

The space is enclosed with a flat roof that holds a large industrial size oculus that maintains the levels of natural light for the spaces and becomes the main architectural feature of the new room.

The new room is connected to the adjacent kitchen by a large acid etched glass sliding door, that when opened, allows the new space to be an extension of the kitchen and function as a breakfast room or domestic eating space. When the sliding door is closed, the space becomes part of the public, more formal spaces of the house.

To provide spatial continuity to the different sectionally distinct spaces that constitute the formal area of the house, the project substitutes all existing masonry guardrail walls with glass as well as unify the spaces with new large ceramic tile flooring.