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All Spain Madrid Carabanchel 24
AO Edited

Carabanchel 24

Nicknamed the "Spirit of Paul Klee," this colorful apartment building features an array of multicolored panels.

Madrid, Spain

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Javier Pascual Aguilar
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Carabanchel 24   Xavixavir / Atlas Obscura User
Carabanchel 24   xGaztelu/CC BY-SA 3.0
The building   Xavixavir / Atlas Obscura User
Colorful apartment building   Xavixavir / Atlas Obscura User
The coulorful apartment building   Xavixavir / Atlas Obscura User
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In April 1914, Swiss painter Paul Klee traveled for two weeks around Tunisia with two of his friends. The trip to North Africa left a lasting mark on the 35-year-old artist that inspired the "foundation of a new color palette," Klee later wrote. Almost a century later, Klee's post-Tunisia multicolored pieces became the muse of this colorful apartment building.

Located five miles southwest of downtown Madrid's Plaza Mayor, the Carabanchel 24 apartment building stands out with its vibrant green, blue, orange, pink, and turquoise panels. This six-story building has three apartments per floor. The building's windows are situated on two levels facilitating its multicolored checkerboard appearance. 

Paul Klee's passion for color inspired architect Rafael Cañizares Torquemada to create this vibrant structure. Built in the 2000s, the building comprises 18 affordable housing units and has earned the moniker "The Spirit of Paul Klee."

The structure can be found in the PAU de Carabanchel neighborhood at the intersection of Jacobeo and Catedral de Santiago de Compostela streets.  The structure is one of Europe's most well-known affordable housing projects, and certainly one of the continent's most colorful.

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Architectural Oddities Art Color Buildings

Know Before You Go

If you depart from Aluche metro stop, green bus 483 can take you to Carabanchel 24 apartment building. Your stop is Carretera Barrio de la Fortuna/Avenida de la Aviación.

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Xavixavir

Edited By

Luis Morato

  • Luis Morato

Published

April 20, 2023

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Carabanchel 24
C. de la Catedral de Santiago de Compostela, 10
Madrid, 28054
Spain
40.371153, -3.762174
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