A historical Madrid home enters the 21st century through smart minimalism by Solar.xyz
Spanish architecture practice Solar.xyz is part of the Wallpaper* Architects Directory 2026, showcasing its smart renovation in the Madrid suburbs
Solar.xyz, an emerging Spanish practice, joins the Wallpaper* Architects Directory 2026, our annual round-up of exciting emerging architecture studios.
Who: Solar.xyz
This young Spanish studio, founded in 2022, is a partnership between architects Pablo Canga and Ana Herreros. The duo’s strength lies in their ability to combine professional design practices with academic, teaching and editorial work - their research project ‘The Architectures of Repair,’ for instance, looks at the intersection between research and practice and focuses on the socio-ecological transformation of pre-existing structures.
‘We like challenging the disposable paradigm of contemporary building culture, proposing an architecture that is both historically conscious and technologically agile – an architecture that treats sustainability as an ethical commitment rather than a mere technical upgrade,’ they say.
‘One of the biggest influences is the text “The As Found and the Found” written by Alison Smithson and Peter Smithson, central figures in postwar British architecture and members of Team 10. In this text, the Smithsons explore the idea of the “as found” as an attitude toward architecture and urbanism. Rather than imposing rigid, idealised designs, they advocate for engaging directly with the existing conditions of a site—its materials, social patterns, and everyday realities.’ They view the relationship between craftsmanship and technology in construction as more of an ecological method of designing rather than the ‘nostalgic versus progressive’ framing that the debate often gets.
Having received the top gong at the Chamber of Architects Emerging Award 2024 in Spain, among several other accolades, it is obvious the pair are going places. Their first project together, Casa Castellar, exemplifies their approach.
What: Casa Castelar
Casa Castelar is a refurbishment and redesign project of a private home, part of a larger 19th-century development just outside the Spanish capital. Titled Madrid Moderno, the scheme originally comprised ninety-six houses inspired by the notion of the garden-city, yet just fourteen of them remain as the neighbourhood went through a redevelopment phase in the 1970s.
Solar.xyz was called upon to refresh the structure, blending the old and the new to craft a 21st-century family home. Their approach centres on maintaining older features through modern interpretation, while adding bioclimatic strategies and systems to ensure the building responds to contemporary climatic needs. Thermal insulation, new joineries, aerothermal solutions, and the optimisation of cross ventilation were all carefully considered and added where necessary. The result? They reduced the house’s energy consumption by over 70%.
Why: Architects Directory 2026
When the Wallpaper* Architects’ Directory was conceived in 2000, it was built as our bespoke international index of emerging architectural talent. Now in its 25th edition, our annual listing of promising practices from across the globe (now comprising over 500 alumni) champions the best and most promising young studios - a snapshot of talent showcasing inspiring work from all corners of the Earth with an emphasis on the residential realm.
This year’s anniversary survey includes 30 young studios (one for each of the 30 years of Wallpaper*), from Australia, Bahrain, Benin, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Denmark, Ecuador, Ghana, Greece, France, Ivory Coast, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Kuwait, India, Morocco, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Spain, Switzerland, the UK, the USA, and Vietnam. Welcome to the promise, ideas and exciting architecture of the Wallpaper* Architects’ Directory 2026.
