When São Paulo–based firm Studio MK27 designed the Valcotos compound in Madrid, the architects’ goal was to create a calm, secluded community in the bustling Spanish capital. The gated collection of 10 single-family homes—all just under 2,000 square feet—is a “simple, playful game of volumes,” says Studio MK27 director Suzana Glogowski, each with two stories of living space, a small balcony, a private pool, and garden. Wood wraps around the individual perimeters, while white ceramic Cobogó brick facades create elegant, lace-like veils over the residences’ second stories for added privacy. White gravel throughout the shared central courtyard and driveway “creates the feeling of a linear park” within the minimalist complex, says Glogowski.