Casa Arces in Madrid: a project by Ábaton, revealing an architecture of the essential

In the northwest area of Madrid, Aravaca is a serene oasis within the city’s vibrant rhythm. Its broad, tree-lined streets, generous plots and horizontal domestic architecture create a peaceful landscape where silence coexists with the proximity of the city, in one of the capital’s most coveted residential areas. This setting offers the perfect context for Casa Arces, a project by the architecture, interior design and landscaping studio Ábaton, which sensitively interprets the spirit of this privileged Madrid neighborhood.

Since its foundation, Ábaton has made architecture an exercise in empathy and respect for the environment. Its philosophy —to conceive spaces that enhance people’s lives and engage in dialogue with nature— is reflected both in its projects and in its way of building. As architects and builders at once, they understand the act of construction as one of coherence: designing, materializing and inhabiting must form part of the same responsible gesture.

Sustainability as a starting point

Ábaton’s commitment to sustainability goes beyond the use of ecological or low-impact materials: it implies rethinking architecture from its essence, studying light, topography, water and orientation, and applying bioclimatic criteria so that each project is energy-efficient both in the short and long term.

Casa Arces emerges from the sustainable principles that define Ábaton’s trajectory, using innovative constructive solutions such as the CLT timber structure, which has become one of the studio’s hallmarks. As pioneers of this type of construction in Spain, Ábaton has developed deep expertise that combines sustainability, technical precision and material warmth.

In this house, the structural wood is not concealed: the exposed beams mark the rhythm of the space, conveying serenity and reinforcing the project’s natural identity. Every joint, every texture reveals an artisanal care that seeks timelessness, material honesty and the beauty of detail.

The house is organized around a circular, open layout designed to encourage connection and shared living among family members. Two clearly differentiated areas define its use: a public zone —living room, dining room and kitchen— arranged around a landscaped courtyard, and a more private one housing the bedrooms and resting spaces.

The living room includes a custom-designed bookshelf that acts as a visual filter between two areas of different character. Open to the south through large windows, it captures sunlight to warm the space during winter. The main dining room, fully open to the inner courtyard, enjoys natural light and promotes cross ventilation. The kitchen, custom-designed by Ábaton, serves as the heart of the home together with the secondary dining room. Both form a large, convivial space to share and enjoy daily life.

The courtyard, a green space at the heart of the house, acts as a lung of light and ventilation. Through it, nature penetrates the interior, softening shadows, tempering the air and creating a serene microclimate. The architecture opens onto this space so that the boundary between inside and outside becomes almost imperceptible. In Casa Arces, light becomes a constructive material —crossing volumes, transforming the atmosphere throughout the day.

Landscaping, essential in Ábaton’s projects, is conceived as an active part of the living space, contributing balance, biodiversity and well-being. Everything in this project is designed so that the house breathes with its environment, adapting to the seasons and the daily life of its inhabitants. The result is a home that unites innovation and warmth, technology and emotion, with sustainability as the foundation for a more responsible, more human and more enduring architecture.

Project: Casa Arces.
Location: Aravaca (Madrid).
Completed: 2025.
Architecture and Interior Design: Ábaton.
Project Team: Camino Alonso, Arquitecta Directora Creativa; Blanca Marías, Arquitecta directora.
Landscaping: Ábaton.
Construction: Ábaton.
Decoration and Furnishings: Estudio de Interiorismo La Californie.
Photography: Belén Imaz, Azul Vivó y Paula Cárdenas.
Source: Ábaton.

Ábaton arquitectura

Since its foundation in 1998, Ábaton has established itself as one of Spain’s most influential architecture studios. Its work, renowned for its formal honesty and conceptual depth, is guided by a clear philosophy: to eliminate the superfluous in order to reach the essential. For Ábaton, architecture is not only a matter of space, but a form of intimate conversation —with oneself, with others, and with nature.

In a world saturated with stimuli, Ábaton reclaims the power of architectural silence. Its projects reflect an aesthetic that transcends reason to focus on the vital experience of those who inhabit them. They design spaces that embrace and converse with their surroundings.

Committed to sustainability from the beginning, Ábaton was among the first studios in Spain to use CLT timber, and has built more houses with this system than any other practice in the country. They use recyclable materials, plan with bioclimatic criteria, and minimize the environmental footprint of each project. Their architecture respects both place and time: homes that aspire to be timeless, lasting and conscious.

In addition to new builds, Ábaton has carried out more than 300 refurbishments, understanding that to restore is also to create. Their comprehensive approach —encompassing design, construction and execution— ensures coherence, precision and beauty at every stage of the process.

Today, with more than 500 completed projects, Ábaton continues to create new ways of living —freer, more empathetic, more human. In their spaces, one breathes an architecture meant more to be felt than to be seen.

Camino Alonso is an architect and Creative Director at Ábaton Arquitectura, the studio she founded in 1998 together with architect Ignacio Lechón and industrial engineer Carlos Alonso.

Project by Ábaton Arquitectura