Architecture News

The "Casa POP" project, masterminded by Gon Architects, represents a comprehensive overhaul of a 78 square meter residence in Vicálvaro, Madrid. This apartment, home to its owners for two decades, initially featured a conventional, highly segmented floor plan that no longer suited their contemporary lifestyle. The renovation strategy centered on creating a more fluid and interconnected environment by introducing a substantial central storage unit. This innovative approach replaced the previous arrangement of discrete rooms and constricted hallways, fostering an open-plan living experience. A prominent green bookshelf stretches across the entire length of the dwelling, ingeniously incorporating sliding panels that offer adaptable privacy and allow for various spatial configurations to suit different occasions. This transformation not only enhanced functionality but also infused the space with a distinctive aesthetic, deeply reflecting the occupants' cultural passions and desire for a dynamic home.

The reimagined layout of "Casa POP" adopts a U-shaped design, ingeniously circling a central storage module, with traffic flowing in a clockwise direction. This organizational scheme enables a seamless progression of domestic activities, visually and physically linking areas from public to private. The apartment is thus perceived as a collection of diverse, yet interconnected, spaces, forming an expansive and continuous vista. Each of the five distinct zones within this fluid landscape is characterized by a specific color, contributing to a vibrant and immersive atmosphere. These carefully chosen hues, applied consistently to walls, ceilings, and furnishings, evoke a playful sensory experience while drawing inspiration from historical European interiors where color was masterfully employed to influence perception and redefine spatial characteristics. This meticulous attention to detail and a bold use of color define the apartment's unique character and functionality.

A Transformed Living Experience: Open Layout and Adaptable Spaces

Gon Architects' "Casa POP" project revitalized a 78 sqm apartment in Madrid, moving away from its original fragmented design. For Santiago and Ángel, the previous layout with its small rooms and long corridors failed to accommodate their culturally rich daily lives. The renovation introduced a spacious central storage unit and a striking green bookshelf with sliding panels, enabling the apartment to be reconfigured as needed. This shift from a restrictive to a dynamic space better supports their active interests in cinema, literature, and art, offering both openness and privacy through ingenious design elements like the flexible bookshelf and color-defined zones.

The original apartment, built in the early 2000s, consisted of standard domestic rooms including two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a small living area, and a separate kitchen, all connected by extensive hallways. This traditional setup, designed for a nuclear family, became unsuitable for the owners after twenty years. The comprehensive redesign by Gon Architects focused on removing these rigid divisions. By establishing a large central core for storage, the architects created a U-shaped circulation path that links various domestic functions. This innovative plan ensures a visually and physically connected sequence of rooms, from more public areas to private retreats. The integration of custom-made furniture, such as the expansive opal green bookcase, not only provides ample storage for their nearly 1,500 books but also incorporates sliding doors that allow for seamless transitions or clear separation between spaces, enhancing the apartment's adaptability and aesthetic coherence. The transformation results in a home that truly reflects the owners' personality and modern lifestyle, offering a refreshing blend of openness, flexibility, and bespoke details.

Cinematic Inspiration and Color-Defined Aesthetics in Casa POP

The design of Casa POP is profoundly influenced by cinematic references, reflecting the owners' deep cultural interests. A still image from Pedro Almodóvar's film, "The Room Next Door," served as a primary visual inspiration, with the green and red lounge chairs in the scene dictating the project's distinctive color palette. Each of the five interconnected rooms within the U-shaped layout is imbued with a specific color, consistently applied across walls, ceilings, and furniture. This deliberate use of color not only creates unique, immersive atmospheres for different domestic activities—such as entering, cooking, eating, resting, and dressing—but also pays homage to historical European mansion interiors where color manipulated perception and scale, adding a playful and sensory dimension to the modern apartment.

Throughout the apartment, visual and spatial connections extend beyond the interior, with windows framing the urban landscape, allowing the passage of time and light to become an integral part of the living experience. The centerpiece, a custom-designed, floor-to-ceiling opal green bookcase, houses a vast collection of books and objects, serving as a shared archive of the owners' lives. Perforated with translucent sliding doors, this bookcase allows for varying degrees of openness and privacy, transforming rooms into softly illuminated volumes at night. Complementing this, bespoke furniture pieces, including a yellow ceramic headboard and a custom desk, further integrate storage and functionality, maintaining a minimalist yet richly personalized environment. The fusion of architectural elements, vibrant colors, bespoke furnishings, and cinematic narratives results in Casa POP being a dynamic interior system that perfectly aligns with Santiago and Ángel's cultivated tastes and desire for a uniquely adaptive home.

The Samuel and Dorothy Eppstein House, a distinctive Usonian dwelling conceptualized by Frank Lloyd Wright, has re-emerged on the market in Galesburg, Michigan, with an asking price of $2.1 million. This 1953 masterpiece, nestled within The Acres – a community envisioned by Wright for Upjohn scientists – is notable for its innovative design and the significant involvement of its original owners in its construction. The structure boasts a remarkable cantilevered roof extending over walls crafted from hand-cast concrete blocks, complemented by mahogany-framed windows that seamlessly blend the indoor spaces with the verdant landscape.

A testament to a unique owner-architect collaboration, Dr. Samuel and Dorothy Eppstein, both research scientists at Upjohn, played a hands-on role in bringing their home to life. Dorothy, a former Women Airforce Service Pilot, and Samuel actively participated in fabricating many of the approximately 3,000 concrete blocks used in the construction. Their personal investment extended to suggesting modifications to Wright's initial blueprints, successfully advocating for enlarged children's bedrooms and a more spacious kitchen with a window, demonstrating a true partnership in the design process.

The residence's interior design emphasizes natural materials and Wright's signature Usonian style, showcasing Cherokee red concrete floors with integrated radiant heating throughout its inline layout. The concrete block motif from the exterior continues within, adorning interior walls, while mahogany accents define the window and door frames. The living areas feature expansive glazing that draws the surrounding wooded environment into the home, accentuating the long, horizontal lines of the roof and creating a profound connection to nature. This 2,500-square-foot home, comprising three bedrooms and two bathrooms, retains its original built-in furnishings and other Wright-designed elements, preserving the compact yet outward-looking proportions characteristic of his Usonian work. The property, situated on a two-acre parcel within the larger 70-acre 'The Acres' development, was acquired in 2016 by Marika Broere and Tony Hillebrandt, who undertook a comprehensive restoration to address years of wear. This meticulous effort revitalized the roof and critical building systems, alongside repairing the concrete floors and Wright's distinctive woodwork. The restored Eppstein House is now exclusively presented by Signature Sotheby's International Realty.

This re-listing presents a rare opportunity for architectural enthusiasts and discerning buyers to acquire a meticulously preserved Frank Lloyd Wright Usonian home. It stands as a vibrant example of innovative design, personal engagement, and enduring architectural legacy, offering not just a residence but a piece of living history that continues to inspire and awe.