In 2004 MEDIOMUNDO arquitectos won the comission to design thirty-two council houses in Conil de la Frontera in a competition launched by ROSAM (Roche Sociedad Anonima Municipal) to build thirty-two council houses within a newly constructed area filled with developments. The project was completed in 2009.

    At MEDIOMUNDO arquitectos we are interested in exploring the relationship between the interior and exterior of housing as a system of spaces of transition and a filter of intimacy. We tend to avoid simple openings in the facade and in this project proposed an intermediate space for exchange.

    The weather conditions in Conil de la Frontera with strong winds and intense sunlight were decisive in our decision to incorporate a self-protective system of openings and the location of more vulnerable areas in protected parts of the houses without having to use external accessories such as latticework, eaves or parasols. In this way our project proposed passive sustainable systems according to traditional construction methods.

    The brief was to build thirty-two two-storey terraced houses on a plot with an irregular geometry and topography. We proposed a vibrant, modulated and irregular sequence of volumes that create areas of light and shade and adapt to the natural slope of the plot.

    The more public spaces of the houses are located on the ground floor whose entrance is set back from the street with a partially covered area. Next to the entrance there are toilets and a versatile multipurpose area. The brief required this to be a bedroom but we preferred to design an versatile space, thus allowing it to be used as an independent studio, office or playroom.

    The other communal areas within each of the houses are well connected via qualified corridors. The ample staircase is incorporated into both the kitchen and living room and the covered balcony on the first floor connects the bedrooms with outside world.

The project for  24 apartments is designed as two buildings, linked by an open-air portico, which works as a connection with the interior of the site, a space whose surroundings are landscaped, for the use and enjoyment of the community.

The common spaces are privacy filters, which propose a sequence of accessible journeys.

The apartments are built with optimal principles of sustainability and technical development of innovative solutions, which achieve a friendly and daily environment, as we could say that described Bertold brecht in his poem:Satisfactions “The first look through the window upon waking the old book again found the excited faces snow, the change of seasons the newspaper, a dog, the dialectic bathe, swim, old music comfortable shoes, understand, new music Write, plant, travel, sing and be kind. “

    Based on the concept of ´identity within diversity`, the proposal is organized as a set of buildings and open spaces that allow for the best optimization of the topography and landscape, as well as the control of building scale, in order to deliver a sense of proximity and identity to the residents.

    The group of buildings for communal use is set in the central part of the plot, to achieve, as much as possible, an equal travel distance to/from the living units. Organized around a central square, which acts as an agora – the main meeting point, all communal buildings are connected through a series of covered walkways.

    The living units are distributed in 4 distinct districts, composed of groups of 4-6 houses, alternated with open spaces. We propose a modular pattern with shared services which can be adapted internally for various configurations, depending on the needs of the residents. All units have direct access externally, through individual porches and gardens. Two approaches to the houses‘ roof enclosures allow for an overall unity, without losing individuality.

    In order to achieve full accessibility for all units, each group of houses is set within similar terrain slope and the connection to the communal areas is achieved through flat covered walkaways or a system of fully accessible ramps.

    The organization and distribution of the buildings avoids large built areas, generating a scale that matches the small neighboring town. The diversity of green and open spaces, such as planted gardens, allotments, outdoor activity areas or informal green spaces encourages a variety of activities, sedentary or active.

    The proposal embodies both an architecture and infrastructure which can incorporate various circumstances of the inhabitants.

     In 2007 EMVS (the Madrid Municipal Housing Developers Council) launched an architectural competition to design 186 council flats for rentals in Carabanchel. The terms and conditions asked for the design of a traditional perimeter block development with a central courtyard.

    At MEDIOMUNDO arquitectos we decided to modify the original terms and conditions due to the topographical characteristics of the plot. We proposed the construction of a continuous zigzaged housing block whose location and orientation were adapted to the steep slope of the plot with the aim to contribute to a permeable urban fabrics and put in place basic criteria of sustainable architecture.

     In our proposal the built areas are threaded around interconnected garden-filled courtyards on the ground floor that open up onto the outside world. Apartments and covered galleries on the upper floors continue the sequence of irregular spaces overlooking large open courtyards.

     In our proposal the apartment typology is organized in three zones: continuous rows: covered galleries, amenities and facilities, and living quarters that are priority oriented to the southeastern side of the apartments. The zigzag nature of the construction, whit the tree continuous zones, makes the consistent typology of the apartments function correctly allowing for coherent ventilation, sunlight, circulation and accesibility throughout the whole.