BURR Transforms Former Shop into Compact Home
Benito is a residential renovation by Madrid-based architecture studio BURR, reworking a disused furrier’s shop into a compact dwelling. The project is located in the city’s southern districts, where the architects adapted the limitations of a split-level floor plan into the defining character of the home.
The plan is divided into two narrow bands: a street-level strip with a generous four-meter (thirteen-foot) ceiling height and a mezzanine raised 180 centimeters (six feet) above, originally designed to permit cars to pass beneath toward a basement garage. This uneven section results in an L-shaped volume, where the connection between levels becomes central to the spatial experience.
images © Maru Serrano
Circulation and Spatial Gradient
The team at BURR thoughtfully designs the staircase of its Benito residence to play a dual role as both circulation and infrastructure. Beneath its treads, stepped doors conceal appliances, storage, and even a compact water-closet. The precision of this integration, reminiscent of transport interiors, allows the architects to maximize usable space without visual clutter.
Movement through the home follows a U-shaped loop. Entry begins from the street at the lower band and gradually shifts upward through the stair to the upper level, which returns to the main facade. This sequence introduces a gradient of public and private use, distinguishing the shared lower zone from the more intimate upper floor.
Benito transforms a former shop into a compact Madrid residence
Courtyards and Ventilation
Both levels of Benito open outward, reinforcing a connection to air and light. The ground floor links to a communal patio, while the mezzanine opens to a private terrace directly attached to the dwelling. With facades at both ends of the unit, cross ventilation is established naturally, further supported by the open layout. Only the bathroom and water-closet are enclosed, maintaining a sense of openness elsewhere.
This spatial clarity is part of BURR’s careful response to a constrained footprint. Instead of subdividing, the architects relied on voids, courtyards, and circulation to structure the home.
the stair serves as both circulation and concealed storage
a vaulted ceiling intervention
The context of the building introduced further challenges. Shared residential services run across the ceiling at different heights, cutting into the space in uneven ways. BURR’s solution was to introduce a half-barrel vault across the public-facing portion of the dwelling. This intervention provides acoustic and visual insulation while lending a surprising sense of volume to the compact interior.
The vault stands in deliberate contrast to the project’s otherwise modest scale, balancing practicality with a subtle architectural gesture. In this, the renovation elevates a small domestic corner of Madrid into something distinctive without excess.
BURR organizes the dwelling through a split level floor plan
a half barrel vault conceals building services overhead
