N. E. S. T.

The outskirts of every city suffer from Urban Sprawl: Montegancedo, a forest trapped between infrastructure and low-density developments, faces the same fate—surrounded by highways and gated communities, dependent on cars, lacking public space. This is not just a site for speculative property developers; it is a system of exclusion, repetition, and environmental loss. Can the edge of the city be something else? Can architecture mediate between urban expansion and ecological preservation instead of erasing one for the other?

N.E.S.T. is a system for adaptable and social living. A new way to build at the boundary between nature and city. Montegancedo, a suburb in the northwest of Madrid. A forest, enclosed by low-density developments, highways, and suburban grids. Expanding urban sprawl results in unsustainable use of cars, and an absence of social spaces. The question here isn’t just how to build—it’s how to redefine the city’s boundary itself. N.E.S.T. is an evolving, modular system—one that weaves housing into the landscape, rather than replacing it. It doesn't impose public and private boundaries but dissolves them, integrating local services and community groups throughout a lightweight steel structure. Each core houses essential functions: vertical circulation, mechanical systems, and structural support, allowing maximum flexibility in floor plan distribution. The primary structure consists of 6 modular steel tubes, anchored to a reinforced concrete foundation slab. Ring beams provide compression support, while I beams interconnect the cores through a triangulated system, ensuring lateral stability. The facade employs lightweight metal panels, optimizing shading, ventilation, and privacy. Living here isn’t about ownership—it’s about adaptability. Spaces expand, contract, transform. Privacy is a choice, not a fixed condition. Private rooms are housed within cores, while interstitial spaces remain fluid, allowing programmatic changes over time. Residents can trade or share spaces as needs evolve: a private kitchen can become a shared one, an unused room can be converted into a communal workspace. The architecture itself fosters interaction, resource efficiency, and a continuous dialogue between users and their environment.