MG08

MG08 is an architectural intervention to generate a flexible dwelling, capable of being subdivided into different units, depending on the needs of its tenants.

For many people, building their own house is the most significant personal investment they will make in their lives. In fact, it is one of the most stressful periods in an average person’s life. Due to this situation, many people turn to conservative housing models, appealing to the closest references they have, which is usually the family home they grew up in. In many cases, people look for a place where they can live for the rest of their lives, despite the fact that their lives can change enormously in many aspects, such as the number of family members, socioeconomic conditions, mobility or health status, among many others. A house should therefore be capable of transforming or adapting to the changes of its inhabitants instead of being an unalterable element. María Guerrero is a house that was born split in two. In order to be able to afford the purchase and construction costs, the inhabitants of this project start their life in this space by occupying half of the house and renting the other half as an independent home. The separation between the two spaces is made by an acoustic protection wall, which can be partially or totally demolished to add space from one dwelling to the other. The model can evolve parallel to the economic or spatial needs of the inhabitants, so that the space can be unified into a single unit for a period of time, to become two independent spaces again in the future. The morphology of this space, adjusted to the structure of the building under which it is located, allows the spaces to be partially modified, allowing one dwelling to be extended to the detriment of the other, without the need to directly unify them in a single piece. A yellow brick wall surrounds the most private part of the house, the bedroom and the bathroom, keeping the rest of the space facing an interior courtyard. Concerning the inner materiality, the project refers to the uses and elements typical of these groundfloor spaces, such as the tiling in dressing rooms and gyms, the raw, cement-based materials on walls or floors of unfinished warehouses or the anti-fly curtains, very common in spanish ground floor homes.

MG08 was designed and built by BURR (E.Fuertes, R.Martínez, A.Molins, J.Sobejano) in Madrid in 2020. Amanda Novoa and Matías Rico were part of the team and Proingenia was in charge of the construction. The outcome was photographed by Maru Serrano MG08 was selected by Domus and Architectural Digest as one of the most influential interiors of 2021.