There are buildings in Madrid that are more than just an address — they are a reference point. The "Casa de Bolas" at Calle Alcalá 145 is one of them. Built in 1895, its circular tower crowned with ceramic spheres and its curved chamfered corner have made this building in the Salamanca district one of the most photographed and recognisable in the city. To live here is not simply to occupy a quality home in one of Madrid's finest areas: it is to become part of a building with its own character, history and an urban presence that no new construction can replicate.
The apartment occupies precisely the centre of that singular corner, with balconies onto both façades — Calle Alcalá and Calle General Díaz Porlier — and a south-facing orientation that floods the spaces with natural light throughout the day. The irregular floor plan, shaped by the building's own angles, offers a geometry that in the hands of a well-executed renovation becomes an asset: each space has a distinct form, its own perspective and a relationship with the exterior that is genuinely rare in any other apartment in Madrid.
The renovation, designed and directed by architect Julia Bajo Villalba of UBA Arquitectura, is built on a clear premise: to respect and amplify the historic character of the building while introducing the technical specification and finish level expected of contemporary luxury residential. The result is an intervention that concedes nothing.
The living room ceilings recover their original mouldings, restoring the aesthetic of a late nineteenth-century building to the space. The walls of the living and dining room and the entrance hall are dressed in boiseries that organise and articulate the spaces with elegance, while the glazed paint technique — a translucent application evoking fine, luminous stucco — lends the principal rooms a warmth and depth that conventional paint simply cannot achieve. It is the difference between a renovation done well and one done exceptionally.
The wide-plank oak parquet, laid in a herringbone pattern with a specific design that marks and differentiates each room, runs throughout the entire home — including the guest cloakroom — creating a warm and noble continuity. The 25 cm skirting boards lacquered in the wall tone reinforce the clean and contemporary reading of the whole.
The kitchen is delivered fully equipped with lacquered fronts and a wooden island, worktops in tones matched to the cabinetry and high-quality appliances: independent oven, ceramic hob, microwave, refrigerator, dishwasher, integrated extractor and washer-dryer.
The two bathrooms and the guest cloakroom each receive distinct treatments that elevate them to the level of singular spaces in their own right. The principal bathroom features a limestone shower tray with Mortex walls — a mineral micro-render evoking polished concrete, waterproof and highly durable — recessed TRES taps, a limestone countertop and a bespoke vanity unit. The second bathroom combines a limestone tray with small-format ceramic wall tiles, a stone limestone countertop, marble floor and wallpapered walls. The guest cloakroom maintains the same standard with a natural stone washbasin, recessed taps and wallpapered walls.
The interior doors in oak with bicolour frames — natural wood on the panel, black on the surround — create a marked and singular geometry at every threshold. Built-in wardrobes combine wood and wallpapered doors depending on the room.
On the technical side, the apartment features aerothermal heating and cooling with underfloor radiant and cooling system, with independent temperature control in each bedroom — the most efficient and comfortable system available in the residential market today. The electrical installation is entirely new with JUNG LS 990 switches, and a lighting scheme of recessed and surface-mounted fixtures designed to highlight the singular architectural elements of each space.
Full-time doorman. Delivery expected by end of Q1 2026.