{"id":218644,"date":"2023-12-11T08:47:00","date_gmt":"2023-12-11T13:47:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/interiordesign.net\/?post_type=id_project&p=218644"},"modified":"2024-11-01T11:13:57","modified_gmt":"2024-11-01T15:13:57","slug":"casa-decor-madrid-prioritizes-people-and-pets","status":"publish","type":"id_project","link":"https:\/\/interiordesign.net\/projects\/casa-decor-madrid-prioritizes-people-and-pets\/","title":{"rendered":"A Madrid Show House Prioritizes Well-being for People and Pets"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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The moveable furniture, also custom and upholstered in the same self-cleaning fabric, is suitable for use by humans or pets.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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December 11, 2023<\/p>\n\n\n

Words: <\/span>Elizabeth Fazzare<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Photography: <\/span>Nacho Uribe Salazar<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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A Madrid Show House Prioritizes Well-being for People and Pets<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

Many of us love our furry friends. But, while we may fill our houses with their toys and accessories, we don\u2019t often design interiors for them. However, for a compact apartment appearing in the annual Casa D\u00e9cor Madrid show house last spring, Spanish architect H\u00e9ctor Ruiz Vel\u00e1zquez set a chic precedent. Partnering with Ecoplen, a fellow Spanish company that manufactures smart textiles, the Studio Ruiz Vel\u00e1zquez<\/a> CEO and senior architect conceived of the home for a family of two species\u2014a human with a cat and a dog, not coincidentally the same pets that Francisco P\u00e9rez, CEO of Ecoplen parent company Atenzza Group, has\u2014and planned it with their health, harmony, and nature in mind, harnessing the latest product innovations in naturally hygienic materials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The project began with the idea of equality. \u201cIt\u2019s typical of interior design to categorize between accessory and essential, between decoration and structure,\u201d Ruiz Vel\u00e1zquez begins. \u201cIn this case, the main elements cover the needs of both pets and their guardians.\u201d Meaning, in this residence, no space would be off-limits for any occupant. The site for the show-house project was a 290-square-foot, two-level studio in a 1929 neoclassical building, but the components can be disassembled and
reassembled with different configurations inside another envelope.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Inside a Pet-Friendly Apartment in the Casa D\u00e9cor Madrid Show House<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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For the Casa D\u00e9cor Madrid show house last spring, Studio Ruiz Vel\u00e1zquez envisioned a 290-square-foot loft for a client who sought to live comfortably, healthily, and in harmony with their pets, fabricating tree-trunklike cylinders that house\u2014and separate\u2014the bathroom and bed from the main living area, then wrapped the upper expanses in Ecoplen, a self- and air-cleaning textile and the project sponsor. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Vertical openings in the fabric \u201ctree canopy\u201d allow natural light to cast soft shadows.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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The moveable furniture, also custom and upholstered in the same self-cleaning fabric, is suitable for use by humans or pets.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Turning to nature for inspiration, Ruiz Vel\u00e1zquez\u2019s concept grew to the idea of a grove of two trees, their cylindrical trunks sheltering the private spaces and supporting a lofted bedroom in their undulating \u201ccanopy\u201d above, wrapped in flexible fabric walls. These hanging partitions create privacy and bathe the studio in a lambent glow, softening the light from strip fixtures recessed into vertical edges of the organically shaped dropped ceiling. \u201cThe canopy becomes a wall during the day and, due to its translucent capacity, it becomes a lamp at night, giving light with different intensities,\u201d Ruiz Vel\u00e1zquez explains. The wall textile is Ecoplen, which is not only self-cleaning and stain-resistant but also treated with virus-killing biocides and mineral-based photocat\u00adalyst, a natural antimicrobial activated by sunlight, to actively purify the interior.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe beauty lies in the forms and materials born from a context of their own environment,\u201d says the architect, for whom natural materials were an essential design choice for a space inspired by trees and living beings. In addition to the canopy, he used Ecoplen fabrics to create soft moveable floor cushions, a pink-hued artwork, and a cat play wall that can be endlessly reconfigured with a grid of dowels and pliable textile shelves. The curving walls, structural cylinders, and kitchen are finished in Ecoclay, a natural clay-based material that is both insulating and sound-absorbing. The ground-level flooring is made of an anti\u00adbacterial ceramic tile that Ruiz Vel\u00e1zquez designed, while the concrete staircase and the loft\u2019s slab floor are covered in micro-cement, a waterproof finish mixed with minerals and resins. \u201cAll of this creates a healthy and 360-degree healing environment,\u201d he notes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Biophilic Design Accessible to Four-Legged Friends<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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A grid of dowels transforms a wall into a custom play area for a cat. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Under the cylinders, one of which contains a bioethanol fireplace, and throughout is antibacterial ceramic floor tile that H\u00e9ctor Ruiz Vel\u00e1zquez designed for Cer\u00e1mica Saloni. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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The pared-down kitchen is nestled in the curved space between the two cylinders.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

In line with its nature-based material performance, the apartment is largely earth-toned, with pops of pink, blue, and orange only in the soft furniture and accessories. Though it is filled with daylight, Ruiz Vel\u00e1zquez envisioned the interiors like a cave, mostly because of the thermal properties and color of the clay finishes. Sited in the curved niche between the two trunks, the sinuous stovetop and counter of the kitchen feel particularly like a natural landform. The adjacent bioethanol fireplace adds to this cozy atmosphere on the lower level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because of the apartment\u2019s small size and the team\u2019s research into the ideal environment for pet enrichment, \u201cWe decided to elevate the private areas, freeing up the main floor,\u201d for play, gathering, cooking, and eating, Ruiz Vel\u00e1zquez continues. The shower, for example, which occupies the taller of the two cylinders, is set two steps up the stairs but has separate fittings for humans and dogs to wash up. Its accompanying sink is a few steps up from that. Though the nestlike loft is meant for relaxation, it\u2019s accessible for all\u2014particularly via the cat scratch-and-climbing pole that runs the vertical height of the residence. Its custom round bed is supported by the other structural trunk, the one that houses the water closet downstairs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Space Includes Natural Light and Room to Explore<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Surrounding the cat\u2019s scratch-and-climbing pole are walls finished with a natural clay-based material with both insulating and sound-absorbing properties.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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In the loft, the canopy has strategically placed openings for views to the ground level, letting in light, yet maintaining privacy.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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A custom bed and cushions outfit the loft bedroom, which is in one of the cylinders. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Maintaining sightlines between all common areas was important for daylighting, safety, and peace of mind, so Studio Ruiz Vel\u00e1zquez formulated strategically placed openings in the trunks and canopy to ensure that \u201canimal and human can always have a visual connection, even from different levels,\u201d the architect adds. Though the built-in activity and exploration nooks<\/a>, like the pet door added to the toilet room for more curious creatures, can provide stimulation, contact between pets and guardians is the main goal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis project in particular has a larger scope than the architecture itself,\u201d Ruiz Vel\u00e1zquez opines. \u201cIt\u2019s the purest connection of life on the planet, animals and humans living in the same home where they share not only leadership but also the same level of priority in the functional design.\u201d Atenzza\u2019s P\u00e9rez wholeheartedly agrees: He\u2019s currently reinstalling nearly every element of the show house\u2014from the cat play wall to the canopy and cylinder systems\u2014at his apartment in Valencia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In the same cylinder, the custom shower is two steps up from the ground floor and has fittings that can be used by the owner and on his dog.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Next to a niche for pet food and storage, a cylinder swings open to the water closet.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Taking advantage of every inch of space, the bathroom sink is in the stairwell, which leads up to the bedroom and where flooring switches to micro-cement. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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The apartment has a 13-foot ceiling.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
project team<\/h6><\/div>\n\n\n\n

studio ruiz vel\u00e1zquez<\/strong>: almudena de toledo; david jabbour di\u0301az; marta garcia rios. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

cement design<\/strong>: cement work.
proyectos y reformas<\/strong>: general contractor<\/p>\n\n\n\n

product sources from front<\/h6><\/div>\n\n\n\n

drypets<\/strong>: pet bed (living area).
estufamania<\/strong>: fireplace.
geberit<\/strong>: toilet (water closet).
bang & olufsen<\/strong>: speaker (bedroom).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

throughout <\/h6><\/div>\n\n\n\n

ecoplen<\/strong>: textiles.
cer\u00e1mica saloni<\/strong>: floor tile.
ecoclay<\/strong>: walls.
axor<\/strong>: sink fittings, shower fittings.
zara home<\/strong>: accessories.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n