Plaza España Skyline: Interior Design Project

About

The challenge for Cat in a Square when constructing and decorating the Plaza de España Skyline tourist residence building was to create an atmosphere in the 37 apartments in which our guests would feel at ‘home’. A simple goal to all appearances, but elusive in its indefinability.

What gives a space a soul? What is the subtle difference between a well-designed residence, aesthetically pleasant but cold, and a warm, welcoming home?

We wanted to create a cosmopolitan space – modern and aesthetically harmonious – but above all, we wanted to enrich it with a certain atmosphere. The challenge has been to capture that indefinable and subtle essence, differentiating a hotel room from a space with soul that we can call 'home'.

To achieve this, we designed a building with bright, well-distributed spaces that capitalise on the views and the exceptional light that are unique to Madrid. Madrid, a city of beautiful sunsets and clear, crystalline light.

As in any home, the decoration is eclectic, offering a mixture of styles and one-off pieces found in flea markets and auctions all over Europe. The stylistic threads that connect these disparate pieces are harmony, delicate colours, light and comfort, supported by the use of warm, high-quality materials (wood, leather, cotton, wool and linen) and a colour palette featuring some bold and bright, yet tranquil tones. Meticulously designed, every single decorative object and furniture piece has been carefully chosen for the specific space.

Peter Zumthor, in his book Atmospheres, expresses his architectonic poetry inspired by William Turner's statement: “Atmosphere is my style”. At Cat in a Square, we sought to follow this concept for the Plaza de España Skyline building.