Spanish studio designs self-cooling apartment

The Madrid-based architects used open space, breathable materials and a vertical garden to naturally cool the flat

Spotted: Madrid-based Husos Arquitectos has created an apartment layout that maximises ventilation so occupants do not need air conditioning. The apartment includes a sleep pod and a garden irrigated with grey water to conserve resources. The grey water system makes the garden more sustainable due to Madrid’s water shortages.

The studio created the layout for a heat-sensitive doctor and his dog. The design remade the traditional, compartmentalised apartment into an open living space with good ventilation. The architects avoided plaster, using “breathable mortars” for the bathroom, walls and ceilings. The floors, storage units and walls are made with plywood and pine.

A vertical garden also helps cool the living space, according to Husos Architects. A specially-designed system recycles grey water from the shower to irrigate the plants. “One important aspect of the apartment’s passive cooling design is a vertical edible garden,” the firm says. The garden helps present overheating in the summer “and generally functions as a thermal cushion, cooling the interior and avoiding the use of air conditioning”.

The 46 sq m apartment includes a sleep pod for naps, a special touch for the doctor who works nights. The sleep pod also provides space for guests without wasting any of the apartment’s limited space.