The project ‘Gardens for an Acrobat’ has won the competition organized by the Madrid Municipal Housing and Land Company (EMVS Madrid) for the construction of 166 affordable rental apartments in the Mahou-Calderón area of the Arganzuela district. The scheme, jointly drawn up by Miguel Ángel Díaz Camacho (MADC & Partners), Pereira-Royo Arquitectos, and Alonso Hernández Asociados, was selected from a pool of 35 entries by the jury chaired by Álvaro González, Housing Policy delegate and EMVS president. Also on the jury were the dean and vice-dean of the Madrid Institute of Architects (COAM), Sigfrido Herráez and Pablo Olalquiaga, among other professionals.

The jury highlights the winning design’s diagonal entrance, the continuous block, the U scheme, and the functionality of the residential typologies. The building includes garages, a space for service-sector use, and another for a public facility, thus integrating a modern architectural solution with a social focus.

‘Gardens for an Acrobat’ is organized around a central garden and features overlapping garden squares that ensure cross ventilation in all the homes. According to the architects, the project’s title is a reference to the transformation of the Manzanares River environs, likening its resilience to that of acrobats moving forward without losing their balance.

The winner of the competition gets the contract to develop the basic design, execute the project, and direct construction work, besides 10,000 euros. The second prize went to ‘Giallo’ and the third to ‘Trisquel,’ which came with 7,500 and 5,000 euros, respectively.

With this upcoming construction project, EMVS Madrid will add 166 public rental homes to the approximately 6,200 already in various stages of planning and materialization. As many as 1,913 are currently being developed, distributed in 24 operations. Add to this 2,200 rental units for which bidding has already begun through the Suma Vivienda Plan, which promotes residential programs in Los Berrocales and Los Ahijones by means of public-private partnerships.