AMBIGUA's Valencia Triplex Uses Curtain Rails for Cats and Humans

Murcia-based studio AMBIGUA has designed Casa 2+2=5, a triplex renovation in Valencia, Spain, that integrates a flexible textile system inspired by Japanese architectural principles. The project, named after a Radiohead song, accommodates a couple, their newborn, and two cats as a family of five. Instead of conventional extensions, the design uses noren curtains on mobile partitions to create adaptable spaces, with cat pathways built onto the same curtain rails. The entrance features a genkan, a traditional Japanese entryway, marking a purifying transition. Following the kintsugi philosophy, the studio repairs existing structural voids rather than concealing them, making repairs legible. The orange stair color extends into bathroom tiles, tying thresholds together. The project remains unbuilt, presented as renderings. It reflects a broader trend in Valencia renovations that employ non-Western material philosophies, such as Balzar Ge's wabi-sabi apartment renovation and Iterare Arquitectos' Casa Nido, which prioritize adaptation over demolition.