Solar.xyz's Casa Castelar: A 19th-Century Madrid Home Reimagined for the 21st Century

Spanish architecture studio Solar.xyz, founded in 2022 by Pablo Canga and Ana Herreros, has been selected for the Wallpaper* Architects' Directory 2026, an annual round-up of emerging architecture studios. The studio's first project, Casa Castelar, is a refurbishment of a private home within the Madrid Moderno development, a 19th-century garden-city scheme originally comprising 96 houses, of which only 14 remain after a 1970s redevelopment. Solar.xyz's approach blends historical preservation with modern bioclimatic strategies, including thermal insulation, new joinery, aerothermal solutions, and optimized cross ventilation, resulting in a 70% reduction in energy consumption. The studio's philosophy challenges the disposable paradigm of contemporary building culture, advocating for an architecture that is historically conscious and technologically agile, treating sustainability as an ethical commitment. Influenced by Alison and Peter Smithson's text 'The As Found and the Found,' they engage directly with existing site conditions rather than imposing idealized designs. Solar.xyz has received the Chamber of Architects Emerging Award 2024 in Spain. The Architects' Directory, now in its 25th edition, includes 30 young studios from around the world, celebrating emerging talent with an emphasis on residential architecture.