Flexibility, experimentation and young design talent lie at the heart of the ‘House of Creatives’; a colourful new events and coworking space in Madrid’s Chamberi district.

It’s flexible because the 260 sq m, split level locale serves three functions. Firstly as the offices (and calling card) of Plutarco, a cross-discipline design studio headed by Ana Arana and Enrique Ventosa. Secondly as Experimento (on the upper floor), a gallery that displays work of the city’s emerging design talent. And lastly, ‘The House of Creatives’, a co-working and pop-up events space where users can bring their laptop, host a private dinner or hold a workshop.

Plutarco’s raison de ĕtre is to take risks and never use the same solutions twice, so new ideas were tested out in the space. ‘We found it in a completely ruined state,’ explains Arana. ‘It had been abandoned for over a decade – there weren’t even any floorboards.’

The designers decided to salvage as much of the decay as possible, and the most practical (and cost effective) way to do this was to saturate The House of Creatives in a bordello-like palette of colours, demarking the various functions; rich red for the kitchen, ink blue and black for the moody dining room and canary yellow and grey for the workspace, which receives the most natural light through a small patio.

If money was saved on the surface treatments, it was spent on Madrid coworking spaces‘ the furniture and fixtures. Arana and Ventosa were determined that each piece be unique, and ordered items from a cache of local designers; such as a 22-seat banquet table by Julen Ussia and lighting from Lebrel, helmed by maverick designer Fernando Abellanas – creator of the secret studio under a bridge in Valencia that went viral.

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