A Madrid family home now resembles the inside of a whale. Its architect turned an uneven roof into a curved maritime refuge, starting with a new second floor.
Emiliano Domingo faced a 340-square-metre Madrid property with one existing floor and a roof hidden behind a false ceiling. The brief called for a new second floor and a naval character. Domingo, of Bardo Arquitectura, made those limits the basis of the renovation.
The main feature sits above the occupants' heads. Corrugated metal follows the roof and stays visible inside. Its waves run through the home like a spine. Curved geometry and exposed joints suggest a ship without turning the project into a display of nautical decoration.
В доступном исследовательском контексте независимое подтверждение деталей Casa Ballena по первоисточникам не найдено. Поэтому дополнительные сведения о проекте следует сверять с материалами Bardo Arquitectura, публикацией AD España и архивами архитектурных порталов.
That distinction matters. The owners did not want a replica boat or a set of nautical ornaments. The naval reference became a way to shape the rooms with metal, curves and the sheltered feel of a cabin at sea.
The project began with an unusual Madrid penthouse. Its roof had several heights concealed behind a false ceiling. That left the property with a difficult internal layout and a large amount of unused potential.
Domingo chose to keep those differences. He rotated the entire floor by 45 degrees to organise the two levels and use more of the plan. The work involved both renovation and new construction. The mezzanine needed its own installations and infrastructure. New openings also made room for additional windows.
That was the choice.
Для фактологической проверки проекта наиболее релевантны архив публикации AD España, материалы бюро Bardo Arquitectura, архитектурные каталоги и интервью с Emiliano Domingo. В доступной поисковой выдаче не обнаружено независимого авторитетного досье, которое позволяло бы безопасно добавлять к описанию новые цифры, даты или сведения о наградах.
The corrugated metal also serves a practical purpose. Workers installed it over the original roof structure to improve insulation. The metal then remained exposed as the interior finish. Domingo wanted the result to feel slightly naive and dreamlike, not technically cold. That keeps the maritime idea imaginative rather than literal.
Colour could have made the large rooms feel smaller. Domingo hesitated before using several shades across the metal ceiling. Carefully selected microcement flooring helped give the spaces a more human scale while preserving their volume.
Geometry carries the idea beyond the roof. Arched doors, built-in furniture and continuous skirting boards repeat the same visual language. The junctions between walls and ceiling received the same attention. Handles and knobs follow the larger plan for a unified design based on geometry.
The house also shows how the architect and client shaped the result together. Their first conversation began with an imagined blue horizon. The finished interior became warmer and more domestic. That change keeps Casa Ballena from feeling like a stage set. Its maritime image became part of a working family home.
Madrid's housing stories often focus on conflict and access rather than architectural invention, as shown by an earlier Madrid report. Casa Ballena offers a different view of the city's homes. A difficult existing structure can become useful when a design works with its limits instead of hiding them.
Casa Ballena was originally published in issue 2020 of AD España. The roof supplied the form. The new upper level supplied the challenge. The naval brief supplied the vocabulary.
The result is a coherent home whose whale-like character comes from repeated construction choices across the interior. That is why the project avoids the weakness of themed decoration. The sea appears in the movement of the surfaces and the logic of the plan, not in a loose collection of references. Independent confirmation of additional project details was not found in the available search context, so this description remains limited to the source material.
