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Fran Silvestre Arquitectos creates flowing forms by adding bridge-like elements to villa in Madrid
Spain Architecture News - Jan 29, 2026 - 05:17 448 views
Spanish architecture firm Fran Silvestre Arquitectos has created flowing forms by adding bridge-like elements to a single-family home in La Moraleja, Madrid, Spain.
Named Villa Lago, the 1,106-square-metre residence has been proposed to blur the lines between the built and the natural, an architecture that blends in with the garden, aiming to maximize the perimeter of touch with the landscape.
According to the studio, that connection to the environment takes on a unique significance in this part of Madrid.
In order to accomplish this, a compact volumetry is purposefully abandoned in favor of an ascending layout that is reminiscent of some Alfaro pieces.
Being both geometric and organic is a duality that the project seeks to resolve. Despite its exact construction, the residents saw it as organic, almost as if it had appeared randomly.
The pavilion, which is conceived of as an open, centrifugal area, and the courtyard, which is considered of as a more protected still outside area, are two ancestral archetypes that are combined in this project.
The connection between the exterior and some of Glenn Murcutt's and Stephane Beel's extended-plan ideas has always captivated the architects.
Using a large-radius curve, the components are arranged as longitudinal, through-running elements. To maximize circulation, these bodies are positioned in opposition to one another.
Five gardens with distinct identities—almost open courtyards—defined by the architecture's disposition arise from this interaction.
Each ensures that the outside is constantly an active presence in the experience of the whole by providing a certain ambiance and multiplying visual relationships. They are areas ready to accommodate the large-scale plant species that will eventually emerge.
This ascending logic is used to organize the software. The swimming pool and guest rooms are located on the lower level; the day area, which faces a neighboring lake, is located above it; and the night areas, which form a single unit that serves as a bridge and creates a broad, shaded terrace beneath it, are located on the highest level.
The communication core, which expresses the levels and upholds the continuity between architecture and landscape, is located where the many components come together.
Basement floor plan
Ground floor plan
First floor plan
Cross section
Longitudinal section
South elevation
North elevation
Currently, Fran Silvestre Arquitectos revived a tradition with a seamless restoration of the Serrat de la Cadalt farmhouse in Girona, Spain. In addition, the studio revealed design for a house composed of three circular volumes in Sotogrande, Spain.
Project facts
Project name: Villa Lago
Architects: Fran Silvestre Arquitectos
Location: La Moraleja, Madrid, Spain
Size: 1106 m2
Plot area: 3066 m2
Completion date: 2024
Project team: Fran Silvestre, María Masià, Estefania Soriano, Carlos Lucas.
Interior design: Alfaro Hofmann
Developer: 37 THREESEVEN
Technical architect: Jorge Carrión Ponce, José Miguel Cota San Andrés
Structural engineer: Estructuras Singulares
General contractor: Project Work
Collaborators: Pablo Camarasa, Ricardo Candela, Sevak Asatrián, Javi Herrero, Facundo Castro, Anna Alfanjarín, Laura Bueno, Toni Cremades, Susana León, David Cirocchi, Neus Roso, Nuria Doménech, Andrea Raga, Olga Martín, Víctor González, Pepe Llop, Alberto Bianchi, Andrea Blasco, Laura Palacio, Carlos Perez, Jovita Cortijo, Claudia Escorcia, Diana Murcia, Olga Fernández, Daniel Fenollosa, Andrés Marín, Álvaro Navarro, Diana Chilingaryan, Maria Barberá, Roberto Marañón Ana de Pablo, Sara Atienza, Valeria Fernandini, José María Ibañez | Business developer CCG y México, Andrea Álvarez, Néstor Bolinches.
All images © Fernando Guerra/FG+SG Architectural Photography.
All drawings © Fran Silvestre Arquitectos.
