FULL RENOVATION OF A FLAT IN EIXAMPLE

Full renovation of a flat for a young couple with two children. A main floor in the Eixample neighborhood located in a royal estate built in 1945 with very characteristic elements of Catalan modernism, related to the classicism that this traditional Barcelona neighborhood exudes. High ceilings, with spaces that look like boxes connected to each other, very typical of modernist buildings from the beginning of the 20th century, given by the traditional system of load-bearing walls and ceilings of steel or wooden beams and Catalan ceramic vaults.

Concepts such as home, sustainability, relationship with the outdoor space and materiality appear on the table, understanding architecture as a language. That is why the main objective when intervening the space was to reinforce and consolidate the concept of a classic apartment in the Eixample of the last century, through a concise and clear architectural language, recovering old and singular elements such as stained glass windows and original carpentry, ceramic revolt ceilings and wooden moldings, but adapting it to current needs.

The kitchen is displaced to the center of the house, promoting greater openings between boxes through a complex structural operation. It is then that the different rooms can be better related through a central axis that projects the kitchen, living room and dining room to the outside, which in turn provides each space with greater natural lighting. In this way, the interior and exterior merge into the same space thanks to a large window with sliding doors that are completely hidden in the façade, allowing a total connection between them, very characteristic in Mediterranean climates like ours. 

On the other hand, a central corridor with vaulted ceilings articulates the day area and the night area. This one was completely rehabilitated, relocating side doors, openings and indirect lighting favoring the concept of central symmetry so characteristic of the apartment.

In terms of materiality, we opted for natural options, such as wood; present in parquet floors and custom furniture, lime paints, wax glazes and natural oils in coatings. We are talking about ecological and natural materials without an acrylic base, open pore, which maintain the essence of a material such as wood or plaster, enhancing its hygroscopic properties by which they are capable of absorbing humidity from the surrounding environment and thus regulating it.