Madrid-based architecture studio OOIIO Architecture has converted a former haberdashery into a new flat featuring L-shaped colorful cabinets that surround the walls.

The project, called House In a Haberdashery, is located in Madrid, Spain and covers only a 55-square-metre space. The interiors are dominated with different materials and colors such as green, red and creamy tones. 

A dynamic wooden separator in the middle of the space acts as a playful divider, separating the bedroom from the kitchen. 

On the other hand, a new shiny and colorful bathroom replaces the old commercial warehouse and is being hidden behind the "L" of cabinets.

The studio describes the project as "new opportunities for obsolete spaces." The rectangular space is reconfigured with the L-shaped colorful cabinets of kitchen, so that the users can have free space inside and take as much natural light as possible. 

"Golden slats direct that light and play with privacy as users need," said the studio.

The architects call the nature of these projects as "Change of Use Projects", and according to the studio, this concept is very common today in large areas of cities like Madrid.

"Society is evolving at breakneck speed. Habits change, our way of life is transformed towards hybrid models where the digital and the analog coexist creating new ways of buying, living, traveling," said the studio. 

"Cities, of course, are also changing following these socio-economic movements. This small project to transform a haberdashery into an apartment is a consequence of all this," the studio added.

The studio followed the same approach in this project and used only necessary design elements and furniture pieces to live comfortably inside. "Where there used to be a neighborhood shop, a car park, or an upholstery workshop, today rises apartments," added the firm. 

"Families are different now and not all of them need a house with 3 or 4 bedrooms, kitchen, and garden." "Nowadays there are also people who live alone or couples without children or people who are passing through a city for a specific time," the studio added.

"Although this trend can be seen from a negative perspective, if we look at the loss of the commercial, economic and social fabric that shaped the neighborhoods a few decades ago; or from a positive point of view if we value the opportunity for recycling, new investments, and revitalization of degraded areas brought about by these Changes of Use Projects," the studio added.

As the team emphasized, this apartment focuses on what is necessary for contemporary urban life. The apartment combines living room, working area, dining room with bedroom in naturally-lit space.

Some golden slats direct that light and remove or give privacy to the room as users need.

Inside, the studio preferred to use simple and cheap materials that can be appropriate to the scale of the intervention. The language of the space emerges in an expressive way, filling everything with color, textures, and nuances. 

"The combination of materials is very important in this small house," the studio added. 

The two cabinets are designed with soft mint color, while reddish backdrops in the counter create a striking contrast. 

The cabinets are framed with white marble and tiled with coral ceramic tiles, intentionally placed in front of the windows so that natural light makes them vibrate.

In the narrow bathroom, the team used bright turquoise tiles, reflecting the light, to make the small available space more sensory.

"The gold of the directional slats is repeated in the details of the cabinets, lights, and the veining of the marble on the floor," the studio added. 

According to the studio, this small apartment recycles an obsolete space, designed for the new demand of 21st-century urbanites.

Floor plan

Axonometric drawing

Project facts

Project name: House In a Haberdashery

Architects: OOIIO Arquitectura

Location: Madrid, Spain

Size: 55m2 

Date: 2021 

All images © Javier de Paz

All drawings © OOIIO Arquitectura

> via OOIIO Arquitectura