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Architecture

Quirky Madrid apartment aims to maximize flexibility with movable partition

By Adam Williams
December 01, 2015
Quirky Madrid apartment aims to maximize flexibility with movable partition
Markings on the floor show where the hinged wood and perspex screen can be placed
Markings on the floor show where the hinged wood and perspex screen can be placed
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Maximizing small spaces with quirky furniture appears to be Elii Architecture's raison d'être
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Maximizing small spaces with quirky furniture appears to be Elii Architecture's raison d'être
The Biombombastic project was completed in 2015
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The Biombombastic project was completed in 2015
Measuring 24.9 sq m (312 sq ft), the recently-completed Biombombastic involved a modern refurbishment of an old basement apartment in the center of Madrid
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Measuring 24.9 sq m (312 sq ft), the recently-completed Biombombastic involved a modern refurbishment of an old basement apartment in the center of Madrid
Elii fitted a hinged wooden and perspex screen to the walls
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Elii fitted a hinged wooden and perspex screen to the walls
Resting on casters, the screen can be manipulated in a way likened to origami by the firm, in order to divide the large open space
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Resting on casters, the screen can be manipulated in a way likened to origami by the firm, in order to divide the large open space
The Biombombastic project was completed in 2015
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The Biombombastic project was completed in 2015
Markings on the floor show where the hinged wood and perspex screen can be placed
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Markings on the floor show where the hinged wood and perspex screen can be placed
Depending on the layout chosen, the wood and perspex wall can separate the bedroom, divide the home into two, or create a series of smaller space
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Depending on the layout chosen, the wood and perspex wall can separate the bedroom, divide the home into two, or create a series of smaller space
Architectural plan of the apartment
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Architectural plan of the apartment
Elii cleared out the center of the small home to create a single large open space, then placed amenities into an L shape around the periphery of the space
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Elii cleared out the center of the small home to create a single large open space, then placed amenities into an L shape around the periphery of the space
Architectural plan of the apartment
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Architectural plan of the apartment
The fold-down double bed can be closed-off for privacy using a hinged wood and perspex screen
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The fold-down double bed can be closed-off for privacy using a hinged wood and perspex screen
View gallery - 12 images

Maximizing small spaces with quirky furniture appears to be Elii's raison d'être. Following the Didomestic and Susaloon projects, the firm is up to its tricks again with Biombombastic. The compact apartment features an open layout that can be split into multiple spaces when required with the use of a movable partition.

Measuring 24.9 sq m (312 sq ft), the recently-completed project involved the refurbishment of an apartment in central Madrid. Elii removed any dividing walls, so that the apartment now features just two rooms: a small bathroom and a large, near-empty space that serves as bedroom, kitchen, dining room, and lounge.

The firm installed all required amenities into an L shape around the periphery of the large space. These include a kitchen area, fold-down dining table and fold-down double bed, storage space, and a washing machine.

The fold-down double bed can be closed-off for privacy using a hinged wood and perspex screen
The fold-down double bed can be closed-off for privacy using a hinged wood and perspex screen

To make the large space more flexible, Elii also fitted a hinged wooden and perspex partition. Resting on casters, it can be pulled out and manipulated into position by following floor markings in a way likened to folding origami by the firm. Depending on the layout chosen, this can separate the bedroom, divide the home into two, or create a series of smaller spaces.

"The screen works in unison with hinged and foldable devices and with the lighting to configure a flexible space that serves to alter the 'domestic stages' (as if it were a 'domestic theater') with simple operations, turning one house into a multiplicity of homes," says Elii.

Check out the video below to see the project in further detail.

Source: Elii via Arch Daily
Elii 077 · Biombombastic

View gallery - 12 images

Tags

ArchitectureBuilding and ConstructionTiny FootprintMadrid
2 comments
Adam Williams
Adam Williams
Adam scours the globe from his home in Spain in order to bring the best of innovative architecture and sustainable design to the pages of New Atlas. Most of his spare time is spent dabbling in music, tinkering with old Macintosh computers and trying to keep his even older VW bus on the road.

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2 comments
DavidB
I try to follow developments in the "tiny house" and "small space" movements pretty closely, but this place? Eesh.
And, just in case the box+screen wasn't enough to put me off, the choice of music in the promo video locked and sealed my disinterest.
Conny Söre
I would have liked more demos of the stuff in the cupboards along the walls. In my opinion the cleverness in theese kind of apartments is showed in the usefullness of the stuff that is tucked away and how easily they can be used and what parts can be useed at the same time. I sure want to do more than ironing, pushups and sleeping in my apartment. Where is the TV and sofa? Where is the table to sit around when inviting friends for dinner? I don't get the point of the movable wall as it doesn't contribute a lot to the function of a one or two person apartment. It mostly forces a large part of the room to be empty of furniture and other stuff and therefore makes a lot of the space kind of hard to utilize for normal living. If you really feel the need for a divider in the room a couple of drapes hanging in rails in the ceiling would have done the same and allowed for carpets, a couch and perhaps a flower in a pot.