ALT arquitectura: roncero house

‘roncero house’ by ALT arquitectura, san sebastián de los reyes, madrid, spain image © silvio posada

madrid-based firm ALT arquitectura has recently completed ‘roncero house’ a single family dwelling in san sebastián de los reyes, madrid, spain. along a sloping site raises a two-story house with distinct entrances to each floor. the property is developed as a narrow longitudinal scheme to make the most of a garden plot. the volume arises from the main street, merging two bisected branches of the access driveway, developing into a concrete materialization in the first floor. the monolithic form rises to end the structure in a weightless cantilever.

bisected approach to dwelling from street image © silvio posada

the most expressive home completed by the practice, the surfaces fly over the ground with minimal indication of its structural system. the produced effect deceives the intuitive structural sense evoking moments of contemplation form onlookers. the large and heavy facade creates an odd and pleasant sensation as it becomes visually light. a void within the form work is sealed with a glass pane producing a skylight to generate the feeling of being outside, breaking down the continuity of the material inside and increasing the lightness of the staircase. the railings are comprised of calibrated round 20mm rods. surprising rigidity is created with the ipe200 beams which support the hanging treads bolted to the internal concrete walls. the space changes with movement and with the variable interaction of sunlight and shadow.

the house is composed of overlapping spatial concepts. some are more three-dimensional, others are more bi-dimensional, and everything is woven by one-dimensional vertical rods of the ladder. the facade is also clad with fluted polished stainless steel and aluminum finished steel windows allowing the coloration of the encompassing vegetation to reflect within its skin.

entry facade image © silvio posada

pool and garden area image © silvio posada

concrete form angles to rise to second floor, appearing to effortlessly cantilever without visible supporting elements throughout its length image © silvio posada