“Having become my own boss, I entreated architecture to throw off her gown of marble, remove her make-up and reveal herself as she really is: like a goddess, naked, graceful and young. And to renounce being agreeable and compliant, as befits true beauty.” (Konstantín Mélnikov)

The first time that, in the company of the client, we visited this flat situated in the old Huerto de Sogueros, in the heart of Valencia's El Carmen district, there was a special common harmony in the initial declaration of intentions: to eliminate all the superfluous adornments of a recent and failed previous reform.

The main objective was to permit a simple and naked dialogue with the architecture, to eliminate everything that was not essential and to direct efforts towards the search for spaces that would connect with the original austerity of this early 19th-century workers' flat, one of the few examples of this typology in Ciutat Vella.

The project therefore focused on two directions: the first, on spatial openness; and the second, on highlighting the existing construction solutions.

In this way, the design of the different rooms of the house allowed for larger spaces in relation to the back terrace, such as the living room, dining room and kitchen, which are bathed in a calm evening light. On the opposite side of the house were the rest spaces, always seeking spatial continuity between them to allow a view of the unique wooden beam forgings, which was materialised by means of large glass panes that visually connect the rooms in this bay.

The work thus sought to highlight the interesting construction and structural system of the flat, revealing the load-bearing walls of traditional exposed brickwork or the forging of the wooden structure and handcrafted wallops, with major restoration work on these elements, which had suffered significant damage. It was also considered important to emphasise other characteristic elements of this type of building, such as the brickwork and the wooden carpentry.

In conclusion, there was therefore no more substantial aim than to bring about a profound dialogue with the original architecture through the removal of the ornaments, which had a significant presence due to the aforementioned earlier renovation. As in Melnikov's sentence, the aim was to achieve this union through simplicity, to connect deeply with the essence of the place, to recover poetic respect through the sublimation of material sensuality.

Architect: Jaime Aparicio Fraga. Collab: A. Castillo, L. Bruna, M. Lastra