Casa Umbral Madrid home photos, Modern Spanish house images, Mediterranean residential property

Casa Umbral Madrid by ARQUID

31 March 2025

Architecture: ARQUID studio

Location: northeastern Madrid, Spain

Photos: Alberto Amores

Casa Umbral Madrid – Modern Property Design

Casa Umbral is a residential project for a single-family house located in the northeastern district of Madrid, designed by ARQUID studio. A home of serenity that features a unique ceramic facade, effectively shielded from the external environment noise and disturbances. Meticulously designed around a set of openings and volumes.

The integration of design and technology establishes clear boundaries and relationships between interior and exterior spaces, shaping the project into a dynamic, dimensional structure. Casa Umbral epitomizes a seamless fusion of innovation, functionality, and sustainability in architecture, promising a superlative living experience for its residents.

The ceramic facade of Casa Umbral by ARQUID:

The structural layout of the single-family home – is designed to cater to the lifestyle and daily routines of the family, considering the main objective of creating a home that provides tranquillity and serene spaces. The ground floor is used exclusively for everyday activities, where the kitchen, office and living room are located and easily accessed. More personal spaces are located on the upper level, such as the bedrooms. This planning arrangement serves as a noise and privacy buffer as you go up. The incorporation of large windows on the ground floor, offer views and access to the private garden.

The house is composed of four volumes: one directed towards the main street, and the other three at the back, facing the garden. This volumetric arrangement is reflected in the interior, integrating bespoke enclosures that connect the main spaces.

Brick-lattice facade

Constructed from plain terracotta-coloured ceramic pieces to create a reticular and elegant latticework. Modestly covers the interior glass enclosures but also shows of the two terraces on the upper floor, as desired. Featuring a criss-cross technology that maximizes privacy without sacrificing sunlight and views.

A key feature of the design which functions as a secondary skin, engineered to be self-supporting and reinforced. The ceramic facade is a modular design that adds a fascinating visual effect, captivating shadow play, and distributes soft light throughout the interior.

Material properties that benefit this project

The brick lattice used in this project offers several functional advantages, including enhanced acoustic properties, improved ventilation, and better airflow—particularly important in a region with predominantly hot weather. This construction method allows for flexible design configurations at a lower cost, due to fewer materials required than traditional solid walls.

True to its name, Casa Umbral is a transitional space, along with the dynamism of urban life. The choices of material create a dialogue between tradition and modernity, while improving the building’s energy efficiency by allowing passive control of the indoor climate.

Interiors: Spatial balance

The exterior wall influences the interior layout by serving as an integral component of the built-in furniture, effectively dividing and connecting the main living spaces. This configuration creates intimate, secluded spaces within the building, making them more comfortable for the occupants through maintaining their privacy from the public road.

The interior of the house maximizes the connection with the natural surroundings and optimizes functionality. With an open layout, the main living space, dining and kitchen areas are integrated. Large windows offer panoramic views of the garden while allowing natural light to enter the building from all angles. The corridor serves as a connection to different facilities and is mainly positioned on one side throughout all floors, making navigation of space easy and maximizing efficient use of space for other areas.

The use of soft-finish wood in the interior woodwork, such as the doors, creates a balance between contemporary aesthetics and natural environment appeal. These materials provide definition and warmth to the area. Along with the light colour schemes and traditional finishes, this creates an inviting and cosy ambience, ideal for a family home.

Wood finishes that contribute to a sophisticated atmosphere in ARQUID’s Casa Umbral:

Eco-conscious architecture

This project applies advanced eco-conscious design strategies. The main facade, serves as a sustainable strategy for passive lighting, contributing to energy savings. All of the building’s corridors are vertically aligned, allowing natural light to flow freely through all levels, further enhancing the lighting input. In addition, the façade criss-cross pattern may promote vegetation expansion in the patios and terraces. These design interventions, enhance the indoor ambience and encourage eco-conscious practices, promoting air purification, and improving indoor air quality.

A geothermal system has also been implemented for air conditioning, harnessing energy from underground to provide efficient heating and cooling. In addition, provision has been made for the installation of photovoltaic panels in the future, which will generate solar energy and further reduce the home’s energy consumption. Another element is an electric car charger that has been incorporated into the garage, facilitating the transition to more sustainable mobility.

Casa Umbral, Madrid, Spain – Property Information

Location: Madrid, Spain
Developer/Client: Private
Design Architect: ARQUID
Construction Company: COGSL (Construcciones Olias Gómez SL)
Carpentry: Care
Ceramic facade: Ferrés
Window carpentry: Itesal
Total surface of the house: 768.61 m² on a plot of 479 m².

Photography: Alberto Amores

ARQUID

A Madrid based studio, ARQUID is an international company, specialising in the management and design of small and large projects in different sectors. With a creative and functional approach, the ARQUID team fuses architecture and design with its long experience in project management, turning each project into a unique and personalised space. A 360-degree approach where every phase and details are considered till completion.

At ARQUID, architecture is experienced as an artistic discipline. As in the creation of a song, its designs are born from the shared flow of ideas among the whole team and evolve through a work process in which the best of each proposal is selected, giving the client the best options and the ability to decide and merge what they desire the most. From this creative process, unique and personalised ideas are processed to become reality; each project being an artistic piece with its own melody.

Recognised for its innovation and excellence dedicated to its work, ARQUID’s achievement are reflected in winning the following prestigious awards. The project ‘Ficus Office’ was shortlisted for the Dezeen Awards 2021 in the workspaces category and was a finalist for the ARCHDAILY Awards in 2022. In 2023, the Monex offices were selected in the international ‘Best Workspaces 2023’ competition. Most recently, the redevelopment of the Idilia Foods headquarters was the winning entry in the LOOP AWARDS 2024 Industrial Buildings category.

Casa Umbral, Madrid, Spain images / information received 290325 fromARQUID studio

Location: Madrid, Spain, southwestern Europe

+++