For Madrid architectural designers Antonio Mora Ramos and Eduardo Tazón Maigre, co-founders of Studio.Noju, finding a unit available for purchase in Torres Blancas was more than just the chance to live in an icon of Spanish Organicism by architect Francisco Javier Sáenz de Oiza. It was an opportunity for unabashed creativity. “This was a personal and professional investment,” says Tazón Maigre. “Some projects don’t give you the opportunity to be as bold or experimental as we would want to, but this one gave us the chance to truly showcase our way of designing.”

While one of the defining features of the raw concrete massing of 1960s cylindrical volumes is the open-air “garden terraces,” decades of renovations had closed off a large portion of them in the duo’s 400-square-metre duplex (one of only eight in the building). Recovering those outdoor spaces became a main priority of the complete renovation. On the second level, that ambition resulted in the transformation of the balcony adjacent to the main bedroom into a semi-open terrace devoted to bathing. “We wanted this space to have a different character,” says Tazón Maigre, “to create a special bathing area with views and lots of greenery. It’s hedonistic in a way.”

Each of the 5-by-15-centimetre olive green ceramic tiles (part of the Bejmat collection from WOW Design) were hand-laid by an expert installer, a meticulous and laborious endeavour that speaks to Studio.Noju’s attention to detail and appreciation of craftsmanship.

A sinuous glass wall follows the “curved language and fluid circulation” of the building’s design, separating the exterior from the interior without compromising transparency. “It’s an in-between space that is not fully exposed, nor fully contained,” says Tazón Maigre of the reimagined terrace, which can be accessed from the bedroom by a tilt-and-turn glass door. With the perimeter open to the elements, the glass installation helps make the space suitable for use year-round; semi-sheer sound-absorbing curtains from Vescom offer privacy and protection (for both people and plants) from the direct glare of the sun.

Olive-green ceramic tiles clad the floor, half-walls (which double as planters with built-in irrigation systems and seating elements) and the showpiece Toba bathtub from b10, whose shape was determined by the “curved geometry” of the entire apartment. Complementing and adding a layer of warmth to the lush colour of the tiles and abundant plantings, the original wood shutters were sanded and polished to reveal their authentic patina. Capped by the rotating circular shapes of the concrete balcony above, the new bathing area is exuberant and inviting, offering a secluded escape overlooking the bustling city.