Architecture practice Endosdedos arquitectura was commissioned to design a new building with 7 apartments in the old suburbs of the medieval city of Malaga. The building is located in the Molinillo neighbourhood, which stands out for its residential courtyards and its proximity to the Guadalmedina River.

The project is located in a place where the plots have been altered over the years, serving as a visual reference to the famous neighbourhood, where more and more residents feel excluded due to the tourist use of the houses.

The new housing project by the Endosdedos architecture studio is structured on four levels together with a roof terrace equipped with a swimming pool. The building also has a small garden to take advantage of the back of the plot and provide residents with a space for socialising and enjoyment.

The proposal stands out for using ceramic materials in multiple formats and finishes. The main façade, made of solid brick, is modulated according to the dimensions of the brick and the ceramic lattices used, defining the dimensions of the balconies and sliding sun protection.

While the objective of the main façade was to create a visual connection with the neighbourhood through the use of ceramic materials, the rear façade is resolved in a totally different way using a disordered pattern of openings with ceramic-coloured carpentry. The image of the rear façade is reminiscent of Mediterranean houses thanks to the white finish of white Roman lime mortar.

Mazarí building by Endosdedos architecture. Photograph by Fernando Gómez.

Project description by Endosdedos arquitectura

In the ancient outskirts outside the walls of the high-medieval city, the Molinillo neighborhood evolved during the 19th century from convent gardens and farmsteads irrigated by streams and torrents into the small neighborhood of shared courtyards and "casas mata" (small communal houses) that it is today, planned with precision in the vicinity of the Guadalmedina River.

Urban planning regulations prevented maximizing the available building space by setting a building depth limit of 15 meters. Since the plot had a greater depth, the possibility was cut short. However, this constraint facilitated a close relationship between the developer and the supervising architects, with the developer trusting that the architects would maximize the functional, formal, and aesthetic qualities of the new building.

Edificio Mazarí por Endosdedos arquitectura. Fotografía por Fernando Gómez.
Mazarí building by Endosdedos architecture. Photograph by Fernando Gómez.

The plot gave rise to a building with 7 apartments structured across four levels (ground floor, first and second floors, along with a walkable roof), with the back of the plot transformed into an intimate and charming garden for the use of the residents, along with a terrace equipped with a pool. These are spaces for privacy, enjoyment, socialization, and contemplation.

The intense urban pressure in the neighborhood, where coexistence between different cultures and income levels is increasingly affected by the arrival of residents purchasing the small existing homes to rehabilitate and either use them for personal purposes or rent them out, mostly as tourist accommodations, is creating an additional problem, which is already widespread in the city: it raises prices and relies on the globalized image of "Airbnb," resulting in the renovation of these homes that are depersonalizing and altering the character of the neighborhood in its broadest sense.

Edificio Mazarí por Endosdedos arquitectura. Fotografía por Fernando Gómez.
Mazarí building by Endosdedos architecture. Photograph by Fernando Gómez.

Located very close to the Salamanca Market or the buildings at Av. de la Rosaleda 3 and 4 by Daniel Rubio, or the small house of Socorro by E. Strachan, all dating from the early 20th century, these structures bring a distinctly regionalist character to Molinillo, echoing the 1929 Ibero-American Exposition in Seville. This influence is still clearly visible in the area today.

Given that the plot layout has been greatly altered over the years, partly due to self-construction, the building aims to integrate while serving as a visual reference for a neighborhood with a strong community atmosphere, in which, little by little, residents are beginning to feel alienated from their surroundings.

Edificio Mazarí por Endosdedos arquitectura. Fotografía por Fernando Gómez.
Mazarí building by Endosdedos architecture. Photograph by Fernando Gómez.

The exterior and interior image of the building is defined by the use of locally sourced ceramic materials in multiple formats and finishes. The main facade is made of solid, unglazed brick from the nearby kilns of Vélez-Málaga, marked with horizontal joints in lime mortar. The facade is modular, based on the size of the brick and the square ceramic latticework used, measuring 15 x 15 x 7 cm, which defines the dimensions of the balconies and sun protections, made from the same material and sliding along their entire length. While the main facade visually connects with other neighborhood landmarks, revisiting them from a contemporary perspective, the rear facade is entirely different, designed with an apparently disordered pattern of openings and solid areas—an echo of the self-built facades in the surrounding area—featuring ceramic-colored carpentry on a wall finished in natural Roman lime mortar. Its image is Mediterranean and festive, creating a contemplative backdrop for the courtyard-garden and the entire block of houses opening onto this central space, which is invisible from the surrounding streets.

Inside, the ceramic tiling with natural-colored Greek patterns in ochres and blues contrasts with terrazzo flooring, very common in the area’s homes, and the simple, functional wrought-iron railings complement the use of oak carpentry, which adds warmth and harmonizes well with the overall color scheme.

More information

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Architects
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Endosdedos arquitectura. Lead architects.- María Martín and Fco. Padilla.

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Collaborators
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Execution management and health and safety coordinator.- María Vargas Garcíal.

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Builder
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Construcciones Adrián García.

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Developer
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Miguel Gomez Márquez S.L.

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Dates
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September 2024.

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Location
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Duke of Rivas Street, Malaga.

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Manufacturers
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Plumbing, sanitation, air conditioning and ventilation.- Grupo Kinito.
Electricity and telecommunications.- Decolec.
Terrazzo flooring.- Terrazos Fortuna.
Prefabricated concrete.- Pavigesa.
Decorative ceramics.- Cerámica Ferrés.
Elevation.- Otis elevators.
Exterior carpentry.- Forjaroda.
Lime mortars.- Cumen.
Alicante blinds.- Hija de Campos blinds.
Lighting.- Faro Barcelona.
Paints and enamels.- Pinturas y Decoraciones Dani.

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Photography
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endosdedos arquitectura is an architecture practice established by Francisco Padilla and María Martín, Architects from de Architecture School of Granada in 2004. Their careers have always gone in parallel since they began collaborating in different offices at the beginning of their professional development. They founded endosdedos in 2007, maintaining from their beginnings a common interest in Contemporary Architecture, Rehabilitation and Heritage Revaluation, with work carried out in different territorial areas (especially Andalusia and Ceuta).

They are in continuous training in new Architecture, Rehabilitation and Design, specialising in Technical Inspection of Buildings by the ESESA Business School and Energy Rehabilitation as well as in the use of the appropriate software for management and graphic design, allowing them to address the full construction process of a project until its completion.

Their work experience is extensive. With the Red Cross, they have been collaborating since 2007 as technical advice in the region of Malaga. Along with the project for the new Red Cross Headquarters in Malaga (2021), they have designed and directed for this entity the Headquarter of Vélez-Málaga and the same of Ceuta, analogous to Malaga, an integral rehabilitation of a building from the 60s of the last 20th century. They have also been able to develop projects in which functionality and design go hand in hand. This is the case of the Digital Content Pole, in the building of the old Tobacco Factory of Málaga, (with more than 3000 m2 of rooms for co-working, micro-enterprise, training, recording studios, etc.) created for Malaga City Council; and the new Digital Content Pole in Benarrabá, recently completed (December 2021). They are currently developing new housing projects in Malaga as well as the rehabilitation of historic buildings and urban spaces.
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Published on: February 4, 2025
Cite: "Ceramic materials in multiple formats and finishes. Mazarí building by Endosdedos arquitectura" METALOCUS. Accessed
<https://www.metalocus.es/en/news/ceramic-materials-multiple-formats-and-finishes-mazari-building-endosdedos-arquitectura> ISSN 1139-6415
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