CELOSIA – PUBLIC HOUSING

This apartment building is

located in PAU de Sanchinarro, a
new neighborhood situated on
the northeast edge of Madrid,
next to MVRDV’s Mirador.
Blocks of eight houses are seen
as separate prefabricated units.
They are positioned in a
checkerboard pattern next to
and on top of each
other leaving openings for
communal gardens in
between. The light and
ventilation these also
provide are in contrast to the
claustrophobic conditions of
other developments in the area.
Jacob van Rijs of MVRDV and Blanca Lleó have completed the social housing block
near the Mirador Building, which is an earlier collaboration. The perforated block of
Celosia assembles 146 apartments, communal outside areas throughout the building,
and parking and commercial program in the plinth. The total floor area is 21,550 sqm.
With a construction cost of 12,6 million Euro the apartments can be sold for
affordable prizes. The city block is opened and allows wind and light to enter the
building, offering vistas and outside spaces contrasting the surrounding area. The
client is EMVS, the public housing corporation of the city of Madrid.
The given volume of the city block was
divided into 30 small blocks of
apartments. These blocks are
positioned in a checkerboard pattern
next to and on top of each other,
leaving wide openings for communal MIRADOR

patios throughout the building. 146

one-, two- and three-bedroom
apartments are all accessed via these
communal spaces. Most apartments
offer additional private outdoor space
in the shape of a loggia right behind the
front door. Inhabitants have the
possibility to gather in the communal
high-rise patios which offer views CELOSIA
towards the city and the mountains and
provide natural ventilation in summer.
Opening the front doors connects the
private outdoor areas to the communal
area.

MONTECORVO
INTERLOCKING BLOCKS
CONCEPT AND PLANNING
VENTILATION

All windows are floor to

ceiling height and can be
shielded from the sun. Each
apartment has the possibility
of cross ventilation through
two or three facades and
enjoys views through the
building and to the
surrounding. A system of
power efficient boilers is
used in the building; solar
panels on the roof heat
water reducing energy
consumption further.
CONSTRUCTION

In the interests of speed and

cost, the architects employed a
new construction technique,
borrowed from cheap mass
housing in Colombia, whereby
each apartment is poured in
situ into an aluminium mould,
all in one go. A series of five
moulds make up three different
modular configurations of one-,
two- and three-bed apartments,
the whole lot slotting together
in a dextrous game of structural
Tetris.
FACADE

The façade is made of coated

concrete which was from the
ground floor up constructed in
complete mould system, an
efficient and clean way to cast
concrete, keeping the
construction cost to a
minimum; an important asset
for this social housing project.
The polyurethane coating
allows the façade to shimmer
and reflect depending on the
light condition.
The nearby Mirador building which was completed by MVRDV and Blanca Lleó
in 2005 also discusses the traditional building block by putting it vertical. The
Celosia building is horizontally arranged around the interior court but opposes
the generic introverted architecture in the area by bringing light and communal
space into the building allowing a perhaps more extraverted Spanish lifestyle as
every apartment opens up to a small plaza.