“Is this even a house?” we wondered to ourselves when we first saw images of this renovation in Madrid, undertaken by the Spanish architects Lucas y Hernández Gil. Called CASA A12, the duplex home — once a deep and extremely dark space — has been turned into a kind of futuristic fantasy wonderland. Because the home was initially so dark, the architects sought to bring the light in in whatever way they could. What that’s translated to is a mix of floor-to-ceiling windows; skylights; reflective surfaces including silvery curtains, metallic ceiling slats, and shiny corrugated dividers; and an underground interior courtyard that receives light from the street via a latticework in the ceiling. Amidst all this artifice and ice are bolts of color, from an orange carpet in the indoor garden to saturated blue curtains to a pink-hued room that feels something like a Turrell installation. So now I guess our question is… who lives here? And if they’re in need of more furniture, may we suggest starting here?

PHOTOS BY JOSÉ HEVIA