With the construction of the new M-45 speedway in Madrid, Spain, community leaders immediately recognized the urgency to address the displacement of a long-established community whose homes were now in the path of the new motorway. It tasked developers with creating proposals resulting in a modular system for affordable houses, facilitating the smooth relocation of its affected residents.

Z4A Architects answered the call by developing “The Irritable House.” Nestled in the southwest suburbs of Madrid, this innovative project represents a paradigm shift in affordable housing thanks to its cutting-edge modular construction. By exploring the possibility of synthesizing multiple construction options within one design, the concept aims to apply its experience to larger multi-floor buildings.

Key to this initiative is the quest to reduce construction time and costs through an industrialized process. The proposal promises a more efficient and cost-effective approach to housing construction by streamlining house assembly with minimal maneuvers and simplified details.

The irritable house is named after its skin’s capacity being adaptable to the surrounding environments. For instance, the skin is a device that, beyond holding the image of the house, modulates the discrepancies between proposed standardization of construction systems and different urban conditions while also building an environmental air pillow subject to gardening and leisure.




2023 - The Texas Society of Architects Studio Award Winner

From the jurors Monica Ponce de Leon, Neil Denari, Anand Devarajan, Friedrich Ludewig:

“It speaks to a very relevant climatic concern, of a structure that deals in a really intelligent way with shading, self-shading, and creating a very different layering of spaces, which as a community we will need to engage with much more in the years to come.”