LA SIERRA: Dental Clinic in Villa de Vallecas
If there is one thing that characterizes the neighborhood of Villa de Vallecas it’s
that it is a family micro-world with its own identity; its dimension and scale favor
that the facades of its streets are dressed in the clothes hanging from them; its
multicultural and diverse population helps the small business survive in front of
the big surfaces; and its unconditional support of their own football team make it
a family place.
The new dental clinic, located on the ground floor of the old telegraph building in
front of Plaza Juan de Malasaña, seeks to integrate into the daily life of the
neighbourhood and, despite its interior condition, to be part of the city. In this
way, the main strategy for occupying the premises is the construction of an
interior street that aims to be an extension of the square; a space that is both a
waiting room and a public space.
In contrast to the traditional white in this type of programme, colour is the
constructive element that articulates both the paths and the different uses of the
clinic, from the access to the cabinets. In the saw, a gradient ranging from dark
blue to yellow guides the patient to the cabinets. From there, the interior once
again becomes an exterior through the ceilings that recreate natural sceneries,
leading the user, already lying down, to other more relaxed worlds while they
are being treated. The route back to the street is, however, white. At night, the
saw is lit, as if it were a lantern, leaving a colourful wake that illuminates the
streets of Vallecas, making the clinic a place of reference.
CREDITS:
Authors: gon (Gonzalo Pardo), Ana Torres Morcillo y Rodrigo Delso
Collaborators: Alejandro Sánchez, Clara Dios.
Construction company: Alejandro Ruíz. Serviteco Obras.
Carpentry: Mariano García. Alma Ebanistería.
Furniture: Barronkress
Vinyl: Clorofila Digital
Photography: Imagen Subliminal (Miguel de Guzmán + Rocío Romero)
Location: Madrid.
Year: 2019
Client: Privado
Area: 113 sqm
Architects: gon architects, Ana Torres
gon is a Madrid-based architecture and design office headed by Gonzalo Pardo since 2014. His practice focuses on research and development of singular architectural projects of different scales ranging from urban planning to buildings to interior construction.
The common denominator of his works is a playful, experimental, critical and optimistic view of the contemporary. In a constant dialogue based on observation and details, his interest focuses on the creative processes of architectural design and construction, as well as the role of mediation and communication of architecture as fundamental vehicles for transforming the world into a place more sustainable, worthy and free.
Gonzalo Pardo is an architect from ETSAM (School of Architecture of Madrid) since 2007, and has a PhD in Architecture since 2016. His thesis “Body and House: Towards the contemporary domestic space from the transformations of the kitchen and bathroom in the West” obtained the outstanding Cum Laude rating, and received for it the 2016-2017 Extraordinary Doctoral Thesis Award and an honorable mention in the XI call for the Arquia Foundation Thesis Contest.
Since 2007 he teaches as a visiting professor at different universities and institutions, in subjects with the common denominator of being linked to the project, as in the European Institute of Design (IED), in Madrid; the Illiois Institute of Technology (IIT), in Chicago, United States; Lund University, in Sweden, and the Master in Collective Housing (MCH), in Madrid. He has been a professor in the Master in Architectural Communication (MaCA) and in the Master in Advanced Projects (MPAA) of the Department of Architectural Projects at ETSAM.
He is currently an associate professor in the Department of Architectural Projects at ETSAM, where he teaches undergraduate projects. Member of the Hypermedia research group: Communication Workshop and Architectural Configuration, he directs doctoral theses as a teacher and researcher, as well as numerous End of Master’s Projects (TFM) and Final Degree Projects (TFG).
He has been deputy curator of the Spanish pavilion at the 16th Venice Biennale, and since 2000 he has obtained 41 national and international awards, including the first prize for the remodeling of the AZCA block in Madrid in 2007; the second prizes in the international Skyscraper contests, in New York, and Velux, in Denmark, in 2007; COAM award in 2014 for the Paréntesis curator cycle, and honorable mention in the Europan 14 competition at the Barcelona location. His projects and built work have been widely disseminated in national and international, physical and virtual media.
Ana Torres
