Madrid 2014 - Celosia Residence

Another public housing project by MVRDV called the Celosia Residence is just a short drive away from the Mirador. This was completed in 2008 - 3 years after the Mirador. It is quite a different project - with a completely different concept. Instead of a tower with different elements stacked on top of one another, here the apartment blocks are stacked alternately with open spaces to form a porous rectangular block surrounding a central courtyard space.

Architecturally this building is less striking than the Mirador.  However, conceptually it is actually more interesting. The openings in the block allow each apartment to have 2 or 3 sides open to ventilation and light, besides providing a lot more communal spaces then a typical housing project. They also let the wind and sun penetrate into the internal courtyard space.