090_RRURBAN Madrid
What Kind of Home Do We Truly Deserve?
For many urban dwellers, the ideal residential architecture should offer the best of both worlds—the vibrancy and density of the city combined with the spatial and environmental qualities of rural living. Yet, the reality of contemporary housing often falls short, reinforcing rigid typologies that fail to accommodate diverse lifestyles and aspirations.
In response to this disconnect, the RRURBAN (Really RURAL and URBAN) Project emerges as a speculative yet practical exploration of how collective housing can integrate the benefits of single-family dwellings. More than a formal exercise, this project is conceived as an open-ended framework, embracing indeterminacy and participatory design to empower future residents in shaping their living environments.
Blurring the Boundaries Between Rural and Urban
RRURBAN is not just a housing prototype—it is a repeatable system for sustainable urban development, adaptable to a wide range of sites and contexts. It challenges conventional residential models by embedding flexibility, individuality, and community-driven decision-making into the DNA of collective housing. Rather than imposing a singular architectural identity, the project acknowledges that a neighborhood is fundamentally an assemblage of diverse and unique realities—ones too often obscured by the homogenizing nature of traditional housing typologies.
By reimagining the relationship between private and shared spaces, urban density and ecological well-being, RRURBAN aspires to catalyze a new approach to residential architecture—one that is inclusive, adaptable, and responsive to the evolving aspirations of contemporary city life.
RRURBAN #01. MADRID / January 2017
The first RRURBAN operation will take place in the center of Madrid, occupying a small plot of 385m2 that is enough to house 7 urban plots, all of them with private outdoor space (patio or terrace) and basement parking space.
The common areas (25%) provide the community with a playground, a productive greenhouse, space for barbecues, storage room and bicycle parking.
Year: 2017 / Location: Madrid, Spain / Program: Collective Housing / Type: Comission
Status: Proposal (on-going) / Client: Private / Size: 1.350m2