http://architecture.mapolismagazin.com/mvrdv-blanca-lleo-mirador-apartment-building-madrid

Leaving suburban Tristesse behind

MVRDV, Blanca Lleó - Mirador apartment building - Madrid

Malena Derschatta published 4 months 1 week ago0 comments

Apartment blocks around a courtyard - traditional housing in the vertical. © Rob ‘t Hart

Mirador apartment house in Sanchinarro stands out from the monotony of the Madrid suburbs, since here apartment blocks are vertical neighborhoods.

A Way out of the Monotony

Uniform, seven-story cream down to terracotta-colored apartment blocks characterize the appearance ofSanchinarro. This suburb in the Northeast of the Spanish capital Madrid is a typical product of uncontrolled, rapid city expansion. The Mirador apartment house, completed in 2005, was hoped to break up the suburban tristesse. With 23 floors the building stands out from the characterless apartment blocks just as through its unconventional shape and multi-faceted façade.

The Mirador is the result of a cooperation of Dutch architecture firm MVRDV and the Spanish architects from Blanca Lleó Asociados S.L. In 2001, architects were called on to hand in their ideas within the scope of an urban-planning related project dealing with the question of how to handle the still growing need for housing in the suburbs ofMadrid, but at the same time upgrading the region around the capital.

The Name says it all

MVRDV and Blanca Lleó used Mirador to simply turn the apartment housing of that quarter from the horizontal to the vertical. They grouped various “mini apartment blocks”, similar to a building block principle, around a central, semi-public viewing platform. This idea gave the building its name (sp. mirador – en. viewing point).

The individual apartment modules respond to various requirements. Family apartments as well as single apartments were built. All 165 units were designed based on “plenty of natural light”, “comfortable living standards” and “panoramic view”. A central viewing courtyard cuts a hole into the high-rise building at a height of 40 meters. This gap has been filled with a common garden. It was supposed to become a meeting point for inhabitants and visitors enjoying the view across the nearby mountains of the Serra de Guadarrama. Several lifts lead directly from the building forecourt to the viewing platform.

Blend of Materials and Colors at the Façade

The individual building blocks differ from each other visually through various façade materials and façade types. Stone slabs, mosaics or concrete shape the outside of the Mirador in color shades of white via gray down to black. Like horizontal and vertical “roads” the shining orange-red areas move among the apartment blocks through the high-rise building. They provide access to the apartments and create passages between the building parts. The staircases not only stand out through their color, they also project from the building front and break up the façade surface at some points. This unconventional look of the building has also been realized by the framework engineers.

With its more than 63 meters the Mirador is one of the highest buildings in the neighborhood. From there you not only have a wide view across the surroundings, but vice versa the Mirador also attracts the eyes already from afar.

Praised and criticized

The Mirador was presented at the Museum of Modern Art in New York in 2005. It is considered to be one of Spain’s most innovative buildings and a flagship of modern urban architecture.

However, there are also critical voices. They don’t complain about the building’s unconventional looks, but construction defects. Loose façade panels and slabs coming off, moisture inside the building and problems with the heating system have made inhabitants complain already just after moving in. The idea of the semi-public viewing area did not work out even. The Spanish newspaper “El Mundo“ reported that the place was closed for the public after complaints about drinking orgies and way too many visitors.

Despite the numerous functional defects the Mirador is an interesting concept of modern housing. What’s needed now are ideas that make people not only look at it but also want to live in it.

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Mirador