gon architecture studio, led by Gonzalo Pardo was commissioned to renovate a former apartment in the center of Madrid, in Puerta del Sol.  An urban space with many references in our contemporary culture, and according to the architects paying special attention to Almodóvar cinema.

Taking as the backbone to design the renovation the concept of life alone (each time a more common option in our society), the architect focuses on giving an answer to this way of living in a 40 m² apartment located nearby from Puerta del Sol whose owner Dany, a French woman living in Paris, chooses as a second option to live at different times of the year.
The gon firm proposed the creation of a single space where the different functions of the domestic program receive a response in a fluid and interconnected way. Color becomes the protagonist of the renovation, taking the spotlight on a chest of drawers lacquered in blue RAL 5005, a piece for the storage of the house, and where a secret room is hidden: the bathroom.
 
"Dany's house seeks to be a good house for a good life, alone or with someone. A home expanded in the city and increased in the Network; rich in details that, in a very few square meters, she contemplates and has the ability to adapt to different spatio-temporal situations."
 

Project description by gon
 

‘There is another world, but it is in this one’
Paul Éluard


Living alone is a common form of domesticity that has been increasing in European cities, this responds to a new social organization that is typical of the most developed cultures, which has consequences on the ‘traditional’ ways of living. This argument is the starting point of the renovation of a 40 m² apartment located near the Puerta del Sol that, Dany, a retired French woman living in Paris, mother of two grown children, a tango, wine and technology lover, and fascinated by Madrid, acquired to live alone and settle in at different times of the year.

Instead of the idea of separated rooms and corridors, as it was in the original house, this small and individual pied à terre is projected and organized as a single room where the entire domestic program, no matter public or private, is connected by a gray porcelain floor. The most emblematic feature of this house is a chest-cabinet lacquered in a blue RAL 5005 that adapts like a glove to the space and is located in the heart of the house; it contains and brings together the storage of the house and hides inside a secret room: the bathroom. This space for the care and maintenance of the body is naturally illuminated and visually connected to the bedroom through a large interior window that changes its opacity according to the privacy needed at different moments.

Dany's house seeks to be a good house for a good life, alone or in company. A home that’s expanded in the city and augmented through the network; rich in details and that, in very few square meters, has the ability to adapt to different space-time situations: from meeting with friends, inviting her children for a season or simply enjoying the space alone; the house is an optimistic and contemporary urban refuge where to live the Madrid dream: dressed in red, within a space and with objects that look like they came out of an Almodóvar movie.

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Architects
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gon. Architect.- Gonzalo Pardo.
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Design team
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Carol Linares, María Cecilia Cordero, Cristina Ramirez, Iván Rando, Kostís Toulgaridis.
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Builder
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Serviteco Obras S.L.
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Area
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40 m².
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Dates
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2021.
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Manufacturers
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Metallic carpentry.- Cortizo, Velux (roof window).
Kitchen.- Barronkress S.L.
Locksmith.- Rótulos Argoneón S.L.U.
Lighting.- Oliva iluminación S.A.
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Photography
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gon is an architecture and design practice based in Madrid, led by Gonzalo Pardo since 2018. Their practice focuses on the research and development of unique architectural projects of varying scales, ranging from urban planning to building construction and interior design.
The common thread running through their work is a playful, experimental, critical, and optimistic perspective on contemporary life, with sustainability as a structural axis. Through a constant dialogue based on observation and attention to detail, the studio focuses its interest on the creative processes of design and construction, as well as on the role of mediation and communication in architecture as fundamental tools for transforming the environment into a more ecological, inclusive, dignified, and free space.

Since its inception, the studio has received numerous national and international awards. Among their notable achievements are the First Prize in the Competition for the Rehabilitation of the Old Llorente Building (Madrid, 2021), the First Prize in the competition for the Archaeological Center of the City of Lancia (León, 2021), and the First Prize (shared) in the Remodeling of the AZCA block (Madrid, 2007).

Likewise, among their awards for built work, the COAM Interior Design Award 2025 and the NAN Accessibility Award 2024 for CASAVERA stand out, in addition to mentions in the FAD Architecture and Design Awards (2020) for sequencehouse and in the COAM Awards 2024 for Casa Flix.

Their built projects include the ten-unit apartment building “Foners” in the center of Palma de Mallorca, as well as various interior renovations such as sequencehouse, Casa Gialla, and Casa Flix. He is currently developing several projects under construction, including the Archaeological Center of the City of Lancia (León), the renovation of a building in Capdepera (Mallorca), six single-family homes in Cala Millor, a ninety-unit social housing building in Binissalem, and various renovations in Madrid, as well as single-family homes in France, Austria, and the Netherlands.

His projects and works have been widely featured in national and international media outlets such as El País, Il Corriere della Sera, Dezeen, Designboom, ArchDaily, Dwell, Manera, Arquitectura Viva, and Architectural Record, among others, and he has appeared on programs such as the Australian show Never Too Small.

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Published on: October 16, 2021
Cite:
metalocus, CARLOS GONZÁLEZ
"Solahouse. Apartment renovation in Puerta del Sol by gon" METALOCUS. Accessed
<https://www.metalocus.es/en/news/solahouse-apartment-renovation-puerta-del-sol-gon> ISSN 1139-6415
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