This second year in ETSAM Projects 2 class we had to made an expansion proposal for Arana House in Madrid.
Memory:
The expansion of Arana house in the Ribera of Manzanares is a complex project due to a law of conservation of buildings with a certain typology established years after the completion of the building. That means that any alteration in the house has to be done now with the actual normative, and basically, the full house would have to be be modified in the case of any intervention on it. That's why the house has not suffered any renewal work from the outside for a long time. However, the needs of the inhabitants in the house have change through the years, what makes an expansion inevitable.
One of the inhabitants, who is a huge Star Wars fan is looking for a bigger room to keep collecting stuff. From the start, the decision of putting a prefabricated container in the flat roof of the house was an idea that seemed to work. This kind of industrial element doesn't try to mimic with the house but with the cinematic imaginary infused by the filmmaker George Lucas through his movies. The contrast with the house also helps to emphasize the idea of an alien ship that rest in the roof. As the extension is just a prefabricated element installed in the roof without the need of mayor work, the need of a license to build is not necessary. The façade of the house itself is not modified and in the worst case scenario, if the element has to be removed, this is a task hat could be easily done.
The user can access to this container from the terrace and from his room through a spiral stairs that connect both spaces. The interior is completely diaphanous so the user can organize the inside of the room depending on his needs thanks to articulated screens. The floor works also as a container so that there is no need of extra furniture to keep things, and space is liberated for other purposes. The fact that the container is elevated makes it possible to continue using the roof of the terrace adding a shade for the rain and the sun.
