CONCEPT The ideas that promoted took the aesthetic decisions of this project are related to the intention to reinterpret the uses of the neighbourhood and the aesthetic functional expectations of the owner. Until some decades ago the area where the work was implanted was filled with mechanical workshops, industrial sheds and workshops of heavy and light smithy. Some of them survive the passage of time and are known in the area. The owner, naturally had expressive intentions linked to industrialization, to the idea of “loft” and rationalized construction. This diversity of spices is joined to generate a single unifying concept.

What was a concept today is this work: low maintenance, wide and flexible spaces, industrial language but avant- garde composition, die of uses and adaptability of growth, of minimalist and conceptual volumetric , articulated, of used spare parts in automotive mechanics but of architectural innovation, of intentional rusticity and precision sought, of external coldness and interior warmth; and ever changing facade. We use low maintenance materials such as concrete, from demolition, which was not revoked; not only for the economy of resources but also as a compositional argument, to exalt the expressiveness of material ( cultural material par excellence in the construction of our country).

The outer cladding is made up of fixed and folding panels of galvanized micro- perforated sheet that not only fulfils its function as a system of darkening and security, but also provides a constant variation in the facade according to how with the passage of time. The interior floors are made of similar porcelain wood that fits perfectly to the functional diversity of interiors and balconies. The nucleus of services is transvestite in plates of wood veneer, which coats with warmth but contrasts with the concrete of the ceiling. The floating top box is covered with black veneer and the entire volume is completely dry. Some finishes are precision (blacksmithing, aluminium, wood and glass), while others are rather rustic (concrete and plaster).

The neighbourhood Known for being the epicentre of a bohemian explosion in the city, with a crowd of multiple nationalities, this neighbourhood remains home to writers, painters, musicians, philosophers and psychoanalysts.

The Building It’s implanted on a land of 8 x 30 located in the street El Salvador. A mixed program was proposed that includes three levels of offices, two levels of housing and a commercial space on the ground floor. Achieving the flexibility it required was the biggest challenge due to the limited measure of the site. The building is composed of a single volume composed of a central nucleus of services. This volume contains 2 units per plant, one to the front and another to the quiet part of the building, each with its own expansion with grills and thermal conditioning facilities.

Removed from the front line, a floating box, acts as a finish, disarticulating the continuity of the facade and showing a program differentiated for the las levels. The ground floor is semi- free and connects the parking spaces, the lateral pedestrian access and the commercial premises to the street. In the first 3 floors it was decided to place the offices as the most operational and most influential units. It was decided to maintain a totally free plant composition in which the possibility of separating or unifying units to adapt to the needs of the different occupants that inhabit them. In the 2 upper levels, away from a high vehicular and pedestrian road, are the duplex houses with a quieter and secluded character.

The units have a first floor containing the most public areas; integrated kitchen, dining and living, and a second floor with the intimate area; the bedrooms and services. On the roof the solarium is located, open and flexible, allows the possibility of creating a green sector or an endless pool with open views of the city. The consumers of these new typologies are generally professional with design, independent professionals and local residents of the middle and upper class who are attracted by the young and innovate air that permeates the area.