Bardo renovates a small apartment in Madrid with structural solutions that transform it into an original, comfortable and compelling living space

When architect Emiliano Domingo, founder of Bardo Arquitectura, first arrived at this home in Madrid’s Tetuán district, he encountered a space in a lamentable condition. The roof was on the verge of collapse and a previous intervention had stripped the structure of its constructive logic. Before designing, it was necessary to understand and to support. Architecture begins by assuming responsibility, and from that premise Casa Cometa was born.

The dwelling —a small 48 m² apartment— occupies the top floor of an existing building. A prior intervention had removed elements that proved to be structural, weakening the construction to the point of creating a dangerous imbalance. Faced with a situation that could easily have ended in demolition, the architect chose instead to turn this fragility into the starting point of the project.

The solution was ingenious: to rebuild the roof through a large inhabitable lightweight truss capable of stabilising the structure while simultaneously generating new living space. In this way, architecture transforms the problem into an opportunity. The new structure not only supports the dwelling but also defines its character.

The image of a kite suspended in the air —light, tensioned, anchored to the ground yet pushed upward— emerges as both metaphor and constructive system. This idea of weightlessness shapes the project on several levels: in the tubular structure that distributes its supports to avoid concentrated loads, in the organisation of the interior space and in the chromatic choices of the interiors.

The new volume is conceived as an elevated, lightweight piece, supported at multiple points that anchor it to the existing roof. Developed together with structural expert Manuel Ocaña, this strategy allows the loads to be distributed while maintaining the intervention within a delicate balance between resistance and lightness. The result is a structure that appears suspended yet responds precisely to the technical demands of the site.

From this structural operation, the architect reorganises the home as a continuous, open and adaptable space where functions unfold without rigid formulas. The staircase, for example, also acts as furniture and container, integrating storage and circulation within a single element.

The house can be traversed freely and its rooms function as spaces capable of transformation according to everyday use. This flexibility introduces a playful dimension to the project: the dwelling invites its inhabitants to reinterpret each space and to occupy it in different ways throughout the day.

Materials reinforce this dual condition between technical precision and domestic atmosphere. The metal structure dialogues with wooden surfaces, light tones and chromatic accents that evoke the sky and the lightness of air. The palette —blues, warm whites, wood and steel— underscores the identity of the project without forcing a decorative gesture.

Casa Cometa is the result of a structural operation transformed into architecture. Where once there was a constructive problem, the project proposes embracing the existing fragility, transforming it into a system and turning it into the generative principle of the space. The result is a small yet surprisingly complex dwelling where architecture once again demonstrates one of its essential virtues: making life possible in a place where inhabitation once seemed impossible.

Project: Casa Cometa.
Location: Tetuán, Madrid.
Completed: 2024.
Area: 48 m² ground floor + 15 m² mezzanine
Author: Bardo Arquitectura.
Architect: Emiliano Domingo.
Structural design: Bardo + Manuel Ocaña.
Collaborators: Morgan Przeraski, Raquel Calvo.
Photography: Germán Sáiz.
Styling: Uri Serra Pelayo.
Art consultancy: Mía de Diego Gila.
Sculptures: Iria Martínez.
Furniture: Espacio Betty.
Source: Bardo Arquitectura.

Emiliano Domingo. Bardo Arquitectura

Founded in 2021, Bardo Arquitectura is the studio led by architect Emiliano Domingo, whose work moves between architecture, interior design, and furniture design. Since its creation, the practice has embraced a design approach that understands architecture as an integral process, capable of addressing both the architectural scale and the most precise detail with the same level of attention.

Emiliano Domingo graduated as an architect in 2017 from the Escuela Técnica Superior de Arquitectura de Madrid (UPM), earning his degree with honours. After completing his studies, he spent several years gaining professional experience in different architectural practices, a period that allowed him to develop a critical perspective on contemporary practice and to gain a deeper understanding of both the design and construction processes. In 2021, he decided to embark on his own path by founding Bardo Arquitectura, a studio conceived with the intention of exploring new ways of inhabiting through an architecture that is precise, clear, and closely connected to the needs of its clients.

Within the studio’s work, geometry becomes a fundamental design tool. It serves as an instrument to organise space, structure the programme, and respond to functional requirements with clarity and coherence. From this foundation, Domingo seeks to develop contemporary solutions capable of interpreting each client’s aspirations, adapting to their ways of living without renouncing spatial exploration.

The studio understands every project as an open process in which multiple scales and disciplines converge. For this reason, its practice also incorporates furniture design and the detailed development of constructive elements, grounded in the belief that the quality of architecture often resides in the precision with which materials and junctions are resolved.

This approach is complemented by a close involvement in the construction phase, conceived as an essential part of the project. Attention to building processes, curiosity for techniques, and a willingness to engage with craftsmanship allow Domingo to achieve an architecture in which the initial idea is faithfully translated into built form.

Project by Emiliano Domingo. Bardo Arquitectura