Morphosis
2006
The Madrid Social Housing Complex is the contemporary answer to the issues associated with the Modernist approach. Monolithic forms dominated the Modernist aesthetic and subjected residents to variations of a formalized social utopia. These highly impersonal structures often left the population segmented instead of producing the collective community originally intended. The Madrid Housing Complex attempts to address these issues by offering a system greatly reliant upon the theme of porosity, imbedded within the organicist framework as a biomimetic system. The framework formalizes the idea of the permeable membrane as loosely connected units allow for passage throughout, individualized sense of ownership, and inclusion of internal landscapes. This sense of passage throughout a connected membrane enhances the chance for social interaction and establishment of community within.
Max Harden
RESEARCH RESOURCES
“Circuit City – Morphosis in Madrid | Icon 054 | December 2007.” 2013. Icon Magazine. Accessed September 16. http://www.iconeye.com/read-previous-issues/icon-054-|-december-2007/circuit-city-morphosis-in-madrid-|-icon-054-|-december-2007.
This article in Icon Magazine brings to life the social aspects of Morphosis’ contemporary social housing complex in Madrid. Porosity allows for a maximized social environment that balances individuality and the necessity of community.
“Madrid Housing | Morphopedia | Morphosis Architects.” Morphopedia – The Online Encyclopedia of Morphosis. http://morphopedia.com/projects/madrid-housing (accessed September 16, 2013).
This Description by Morphosis Architects offers a short comprehensive characterization of the housing project in Madrid. Apparent is the reliance on porosity to overcome modernist mistakes of institutionalized form.
