The design of new homes built in Spain has evolved little in recent decades. The apartments in residential developments are usually photocopies in which the same pattern is repeated: rooms that have a fixed use and are connected by corridors and walls. It is in the world of renovation where, for some time now, new approaches to the distribution of spaces have been seen. The proposals of different architectural studios incorporate concepts of flexibility and multifunctionality, in addition to considering social aspects such as the gender perspective. Although more slowly than desirable, interior design and residential architecture are beginning to reflect the real demands of the inhabitants – who can be from a single-parent family to a group of friends or a person alone with their pet – and, at the same time, to adapt to housing that has decreased in recent years as a result of the rise in prices per square meter. “These approaches ensure that homes are not only spaces to live in, but designed to live well, reflecting a deeper understanding of our needs in a world that is constantly evolving,” says Pepa Casado, founder of Futurea, a trend consultancy specialized in design. One of the most significant changes in the distribution of housing is the recovery by some architects of the enfilade, that is, a succession of rooms aligned with each other that creates an uninterrupted view. This design, which was common in European Baroque and Renaissance architecture, emphasizes the idea of fluid circulation and flexible spaces. “The traditional distribution with which we work is with corridors, which in the end are no longer catalogs of doors. They help distribute and are very functional, but in the end they are just transit spaces with no other use than storing doors that go to other places,” says Casado. An example of this intervention was the renovation in 2016 of a house on Ataülf Street, in the Gothic Quarter of Barcelona, carried out by Anna & Eugeni Bach. And, in a similar way, in the Furniture-Study-Housing project (2018), in the Eixample of Barcelona.
Enfilade application in a home in Barcelona, by Anna & Eugeni Bach. Non-hierarchical housing, that which seeks to ensure that all members have the same access to spaces, is another great bet and also fits with the gender perspective that some studios are implementing in their projects. That there are no first and second class spaces. “Many architects are already promoting the disappearance of the en-suite bedroom, which is clearly a model that does not favor equality in housing.” This bathroom integrated into the bedroom is not accessible to the rest of the inhabitants. “What architecture with a gender perspective says is that all members of a home should have the right to the same living space,” explains the founder of Futurea. Thus, the bedrooms should be the same size or, at least, be conceived with a common criterion. In the design of the kitchens, greater progress is noted in this regard. Firstly, because decades ago they opened to the salon – despite the detractors of this conception due to the smells and noises – and, secondly, because now they have taken another step by incorporating an inclusive vision, equal roles. at home.The six architects from the Barcelona studio Cierto Estudio have applied the gender and equality perspective to the Illa Glòries building (Barcelona), under construction. They have done so by dignifying the kitchen, which becomes “a main part of the home, a piece that visually dominates, in the heart of the house,” explains architect Carlota de Gispert. This is how to prevent it from becoming a segregated space. “Not only is cooking, many more things happen, it is no longer just the woman involved,” he adds. Closely related to the gender perspective are also the walkways, which give access to the apartments and generate community among the neighbors (there are no private terraces).
Catwalks in the Illa Glòries building (Barcelona), designed by Cierto Estudio. That of Cierto Estudio is the opposite definition of the famous Frankfurt kitchen, designed by the Austrian architect Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky in 1926, a very narrow space in which only a person, the woman. This design very clearly defined the distribution of tasks in the house. Now, the trend is to reduce the segregation of spaces by creating instead fluid areas that promote equitable interaction. And not only is the kitchen intended to be an open space, but also a multipurpose area in which to cook, work or study. These changes, together with the fact that homes are increasingly smaller, have meant that Sales of traditional dining tables have declined in recent years. “They sell less because we eat differently, the kitchen is integrated into the living room,” says Casado. On the other hand, the demand for folding tables has grown.
Non-binary housing
All of these ideas link in turn with what the architecture studio Pachón Paredes has coined with the term non-binary spaces, in which freedom of use is not compromised. They are neutral, open and multifunctional homes, so that they can be easily transformed according to the needs of their users. «Unlike other historical periods, in which function, rooms and family were conditioned by socioeconomic vectors that defined the domestic habitat and limited the behavior of its users, today society demands more than ever the flexibility and adaptability of the sociocultural and urban models,” indicates architect Luis Gallego Pachón. An example is the renovation carried out by this studio in a 100 square meter apartment in Madrid Río (Madrid). The same intervention strategy is used in another 110-meter apartment built in the Pacífico neighborhood, also in Madrid, for which the studio has received the national architecture award in the rehabilitation category, awarded by the Superior Council of Colleges. of Architects of Spain.In all these new approaches, furniture plays a fundamental role, now understood as an element of interior distribution of space and not only as a decoration or storage tool. For example, open shelving allows you to see through it, but also separates areas. Modular furniture, which can be moved or reconfigured, is the key to this new concept. For example, folding tables or benches with wheels are useful for reconfiguring the space and, instead of a wall, a set of modular furniture can make the difference between the living room and the dining room.
