a sequence of colored rooms and a continuous bookcase reshape a madrid apartment

Casa POP reorganizes a standardized Madrid apartment

Casa POP by gon architects is the renovation of a 78 sqm apartment in Vicálvaro, east of Madrid, that had been occupied by its owners for 20 years. The starting point was a typical, heavily compartmentalized home whose layout no longer suited their way of living. The project reorganizes the apartment around a large central storage core, replacing the original sequence of small rooms and corridors with a more open and connected spatial arrangement. A large green bookshelf runs from one side of the home to the other, incorporating sliding doors that can be opened or closed to adjust privacy and change the configuration of the space depending on the occasion.

The apartment is located on the sixth floor of a residential complex built in the 2000s on former industrial land, with exposed brick buildings, shared areas, and a swimming pool. Its elevated position provides views across the surrounding neighborhood, while the compact floor plan gives the apartment a watchtower-like quality. The original layout was based directly on the housing regulations in force at the time, incorporating the domestic rooms required by minimum standards. Designed for a nuclear family with children, it contained two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a small living room, a compact independent kitchen, and extensive hallway space.

For the owners, Santiago and Ángel, this standardized arrangement no longer corresponded to their lifestyle. A hospital nurse and a high school language and literature teacher, respectively, the couple has an active interest in cinema, theater, literature, and other forms of culture. Their daily life is centered on time, leisure, and cultural activities, leading to a different set of spatial requirements. The renovation therefore transforms the narrow and compartmentalized apartment into a more spacious and connected home, while incorporating their request for a cinematic zenithal perspective throughout the project.

all images ©Subliminal Image

A U-shaped plan connects five color-defined rooms

The new layout, developed by gon architects studio, is organized as a U-shaped plan around the central storage core, with the circulation moving clockwise. This arrangement allows the domestic programs to unfold as a sequence of physically and visually connected rooms, moving from the more public areas toward the private ones. The apartment can be understood as a series of interconnected rooms of different sizes and functions, forming an open and continuous landscape while maintaining five distinct areas defined by color.

Each of these five spaces corresponds to a domestic program and action, including entering, cooking, eating, resting, and dressing. Within each area, the walls, ceiling, and furniture are painted in the same color, creating a continuous surface and an immersive spatial atmosphere. The approach references the interiors of 18th- and 19th-century European mansions, where color was used to shape perception and alter the apparent scale and character of rooms. Here, the use of color also introduces a playful and sensory quality into the apartment.

From the entrance hall, the sequence continues toward the en-suite bedroom and its lemon-yellow dressing room. A large marble-green walkthrough kitchen forms the central meeting and circulation space, functioning as a place for cooking, gathering, and conversation before leading into the rectangular living-dining room. This space also incorporates a small workspace and a folding bed integrated into the furniture, which can be pulled out when guests stay overnight.

Cinematic references inform the furniture of Casa POP

Throughout the apartment, the different rooms maintain visual and spatial connections with one another and with the exterior. The windows frame views of the surrounding urban landscape, allowing changes in light and time to become part of the interior experience. The apartment is consequently conceived as a space that registers the passage of time through its relationship with the city outside. A large custom-made bookcase, completely lacquered in opal green, occupies the living-dining room, extending from floor to ceiling and across the width of the apartment. Its 27 shelves accommodate nearly 1,500 books and small objects, creating a shared domestic archive that reflects the biographies and interests of Santiago and Ángel. The work of Granadan writer Federico García Lorca holds a particular place within the collection.

The bookcase is perforated at two points to incorporate a system of translucent sliding doors. These doors allow individual rooms to become more independent while retaining flexibility across the apartment. Open, they create long visual diagonals through the connected spaces; closed, they establish more contained and visually abstract interiors. At night, the translucent surfaces allow the individual rooms to read as softly illuminated volumes within the apartment. Alongside the main bookcase, several pieces of furniture were specifically designed and manufactured for the home, including a yellow ceramic headboard in the bedroom and a desk where Ángel grades his exams. By integrating storage and functions into custom furniture, the project keeps the overall furniture arrangement compact. The main living and bedroom areas contain four principal pieces: a table, a sofa, armchairs, and a bed, complemented by the lighting fixtures.

The design also incorporates references drawn from the owners’ personal cultural interests. One of the project’s key visual references comes from a still frame from Pedro Almodóvar’s film The Room Next Door, which Santiago and Ángel presented during their first meeting. The image shows Tilda Swinton and Julianne Moore lying on two lounge chairs, one green and one red. These two colors became part of the project’s imagery and ultimately informed the color palette and narrative of Casa POP. Through its central storage core, continuous circulation, integrated furniture, sliding doors, and color-defined rooms, Casa POP replaces the apartment’s original compartmentalized arrangement with a flexible sequence of connected domestic spaces. The project treats architecture, furniture, color, books, and cinematic references as parts of the same interior system.

project info:

name: casa POP
architects: gon architects

location: Vicálvaro, Madrid, Spain

built area: 78 sqm

lead architect: Gonzalo Pardo

design team: Carol Linares, Maria Konstantinidou, Sara Mordt, Maria Cecilia Cordero, Alexandra Marouda

construction: Serviteco Obras sl

furniture: Muuto, Kartell, Alessi, %Tradition

handles: ZETA by gon architects

photographer: Subliminal Image (Rocío R. Rivas + Miguel de Guzmán)