LAS CASAS 'A LA MALICIA' O DE DIFÍCIL REPARTICIÓN EN MADRID: EL ENIGMA GRÁFICO DE SU INCONVENIENTE PROPORCIÓN (1556-1788).

The houses named 'a la malicia', 'de tercia', or of complex distribution, were built in Madrid's historic centre outskirts until their prohibition (1556-1788). They were considered inadequate, ugly, and lacking proportion and were therefore exempt from royal accommodation. However, the lack of original records and the subsequent indefinite reforms question the graphic enigma of their 'inconvenient proportion'. This research connects the old graphic parameters raised with the construction discovered in drawings, ordinances, and archives. It first analyses the preserved files (1602-1788), interprets the hidden lines in Mancelli's (1622-32) and Texeira's (1656) drawings, and determines the rhythm, hierarchy, and symmetry of the later neoclassical projects. Then, it presents the insufficient original elevation in contrast with the building laws required later: 'to raise, extend and increase to the appropriate proportion' (1788). Finally, it determines the tricky drawings and outlines the facade: disordered openings, hidden floors, and the disparity of its graphic parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]