Together with Los Pinos residential complex in Torrelodones and the Care Centre for the Physically Disabled in Alcuéscar (Cáceres), this parish house in Clara del Rey (Madrid) stands out as being one of the best large-scale projects of the studio’s founding years; and it is the one that best represents its successful collaboration with the master Enrique Nafarrate Mexia during his years of association and time in Spain (1974-1984). In 1978 the studio was entrusted with this large-scale parish house, for what was at that time a new neighbourhood under development, growing on the edge of the city, near the road to Barcelona, (today a fully consolidated urban area, integrated into the central almond of the M-30). The plot occupied an entire block measuring 90 x 65m giving way to a large paved area at its front on the calle Clara del Rey No. 38, where it was decided to place the Church as it was the highest part of the plot, which has a steep decline towards the calle Corazón de María. The authors of the project were faced with a mixed and complex programme involving a plot on a complicated incline, and no urban benchmarks (on the contrary, the intention was to build one).

The core decision of the project was to create an atrium that articulated the relationship between the two central pieces (Church and parish house) allowing the two elements, each on a different level, to fit together topographically. Obviously the architecture of the house is more discreet and orthogonal, whereas the Church is a piece that is richer in shape, adopting a diagonal axis to maximise space and to allow for a large atrium at the foot of the entrance The exterior morphology unveils organic and Aaltian echoes (the use of curves, the brickwork, the contrast of vertical elements, the incorporation of a complex prominent element in an otherwise orthogonal section). The interior space is marked by a skylight above the altar, highly influenced by the brilliant solutions of Miguel Fisac for these kinds of spaces. An abundance of garden plants were planted in the central patio and perimeter areas that envelop the buildings, protecting them from the intense traffic of the surrounding roads. After more than 40 years, the buildings continue to show their evident quality and successful integration in the urban sprawl of their close surroundings, which adopts them as a benchmark.