00:01The main inspiration for Casa Gialla were all these wonderful Italian houses of the 60s with
00:10architects like my Gio Ponti or Carlo Scarpa because they are full of colors and full of
00:17different kind of interesting geometries. So optimistic, so Mediterranean for living.
00:24My name is Gonzalo Pardo. I'm the creative director of GON, an architecture and design office based in Madrid.
00:33Surround the apartment is La Puerta del Sol, one of the most popular squares in Madrid.
00:40It's full of groceries and restaurants and it's very well connected. The building was built in 1910
00:49and it was renovated in 2003. It's always been a residential building.
01:02The client is a young Italian woman, her name is Cecilia. She was looking for an apartment to live
01:11with her partner. She wanted a very functional apartment but at the same time very hedonistic.
01:19The first time we came into the apartment, which is on the top of the building, it was a very,
01:25very dark space full of wooden beams and divided into different kind of rooms. There was a kitchen,
01:32two bedrooms, a little bathroom and an unused terrace. In Casa Gialla we performed three main
01:42architectural actions. We demolished the walls of the house. We opened some skylights in order to
01:50introduce natural light and we equipped the perimeter with the storage from the floor to the ceiling.
01:59Right in front of the elevator door you will find the entrance to Casa Gialla.
02:03We built a kind of yellow arc that allows us to understand that we are passing from one space to
02:10another. The electrical panel and the intercom of the house is also hidden on the right side of the arc.
02:21The living area is a part of the main rectangular open space of Casa Gialla. The main idea was to
02:29make
02:29a flexible space so we decided to put all the storage in the perimeter. In that way Tessie could use
02:37the
02:38center as she wanted.
02:42The living area can be a little dark so we chose to create a yellow storage wall that starts from
02:51the
02:51entrance and goes all the way to the end of the apartment. It contains the shoes and coat storage
02:57for the entrance. A bookshelf, a door to the bedroom and bathroom and an opening which has the projector.
03:04The projector can be used in the bedroom or in the living room. The bedroom is on the other side
03:11inside a kind of secret space hidden from visitors through a car chain. The storage of the bedroom are
03:19from Ikea. It also works as a screen for the projector when Cecilia is lying on her bed.
03:28There's a mirror in the corner for the clients to try out her outfits and also to make the space
03:36feel bigger.
03:37The bathroom can be accessed from the living area and the bedroom.
03:42It is the smallest and most hidden place in the house.
03:47We separate the shower from the toilet. They can be used by two people at the same time.
03:54The floor of the bedroom and the bathroom is a large white porcelain tile because we wanted to make the
04:02space feel continuous. At the end of the living area is more storage in white laminate. It also contains
04:12the boiler and the washing machine. There is a hidden bed for when guests stay over.
04:21There is an office in the corner of the apartment with views to the city. It is made from the
04:27same
04:27material as the kitchen, lower to make it easier to sit at. The kitchen is a wide and very horizontal
04:37space.
04:38There is a large hidden fridge, an induction hub, a dishwasher and a microwave oven.
04:46The window can slide open and be hidden within the wall for saving space.
04:55There is a circular dining table on the other side of the kitchen.
04:59It is plenty of space for the client's daily needs.
05:04The terrace is possibly one of the most special places in the apartment.
05:10To get to the terrace there is a step and a big window that can be fully opened to connect
05:16the interior
05:17with the exterior. There is a shower
05:24and a bathtub pool where to spend not only the summer days but also the winter.
05:32In Casa Yala what was very important is to connect the interior with the exterior to make a flexible
05:38space. This space can be built with very expensive material, very cheap materials but for us we can't
05:45get them without so much money because at the end we could have IKEA storage. There's also one thing
05:52that we can spend the money. In this case it was this yellow storage. For sure when you have money
05:58you
05:58can make incredible things. It's not always necessary.
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