Casa Lumière

Located in the Albacete urban center, the apartment is part of a block of houses from the 1970s designed by the renowned Antonio Escario, a reference 20th-century architect. In this building, the lines and details typical of the Spanish architect are clearly seen. The perfectly oriented home takes advantage of every corner of its unique morphology, with an excellent, crossed ventilation, a remarkable natural lighting and an exterior decoration with large planters that enrich and supply the city with natural elements.

The owners, young people provided with an exquisite taste and passionate about art and design, sought to decongest the interior volume of the apartment. This was originally highly compartmentalized due to the construction phase demands. One of their requests was to create corners throughout the home aimed at highlighting their abstract artwork collection and creating a clean, practical architectural design which provides the whole ensemble with air and lightness.

Respecting the essence of the building, the studio Z3 Arquitectura Interior presents Casa Lumière, a house that completely breaks away from the previous distribution to start from scratch and thus work with total freedom. “We are talking about a unique, full of character home, with an atypical volumetric design that offers fantastic opportunities to play with the different ceiling heights, slanted lines, and theatrical lights and shadows that penetrate the interior.”

The spaces intertwine, generating a maximum openness feeling thanks to the lighting provided by the three façades surrounding the apartment. As soon as you enter the house, spaciousness and communication between areas is perceived. To achieve continuity, smooth finish mortar and paints with Ral 9010 are applied to floors in ‘nude’ tones.

The decisions regarding zoning seek to divide the home in two sections, a fictitious vertical line delimiting the day- and night-use areas.

In the first area, aimed at day use, the interior carpentry cabinets—made with custom-made, natural walnut wood—divide the spaces. Throughout the first area, the carpentry keeps a constant height relation, allowing air and light flow in its upper part and thus provoking a larger visual openness. The central block is conceived as a service bathroom; it is the axis of the house and helps the clients display two of their most important works of art on its exterior sides. To provide this space with inner natural lighting, an upper perimeter strip is installed; it serves as a skylight aligned with the height of the interior carpentry. This solution allows us to cover it with softer materials, which provide natural light to this small, charming bathroom.

The large, Japandi design kitchen is resolved in an L shape, with base units and a beautiful, marble-finished worktop with a silky texture. It is completed by a large block of floor-to-ceiling elements; they serve as a pantry and breakfast module next to the appliances, covered with wooden slats and facing the working area. In the dining room, a discreet, elegant, hanging light point creates a romantic and cozy corner. Careful attention has been given to the small, intimate studio that completes the section.

A comfortable living room and an adjacent reading area lie in front of the dining area. They are delimited by a large service furniture designed to provide the house with more storage room. These areas give direct access to the main façade terrace, covered with the same flooring and a beautiful planter along its entire length, plants hanging over it.

In the second area—the private section—, we find a guest bedroom with built-in closets and a sweet, cozy decoration. Next to it lies the master suite, formed by a large bedroom with a large, walk-in closet and a bright bathroom whose vertical sides are covered with the same finish materials of the entire house floors. Small effects of glass and wood decorate this room, providing serenity and elegance.

The carefully studied lighting helps us create different scenarios depending on the time of day, apart from highlighting the works of art distributed throughout the house. As for the furniture and lighting selection, national and international design pieces were chosen to embellish this beautiful house with elegance and delicacy.

This project is conceived as a small art gallery, full of light and air, where you and your guests can enjoy, step by step, a striking abstract collection.

At a single glance, Casa Lumière marks the design line of Z3 Arquitectura Interior. Client proximity, elegance and taste for design, and attention to the smallest detail enable us to obtain these wonderful results, which bring out a smile and fill with strength and enthusiasm whenever they are revisited.