Site Specific: Providència Apartment

Aureli Mora and Omar Ornaque Arquitectes - Barcelona, September 2020

AMOO This 60m² apartment is on the top floor of a building built in 1959 and located in the Gracia neighbourhood of Barcelona. The envelope consists of the existing load-bearing walls with the interior divided by the elevator and staircase core as well as by a single load-bearing wall. The living area faces the SW façade while the bedroom faces the SE façade.

From the beginning, the project sought to reverse the distribution of the house’s uses. All the internal non-loadbearing partitions are demolished and any structural intervention is avoided, unlike the previous proposals which had been approved by the City Council. The proposal is driven by our client’s demands; firstly a large bedroom with a fully open bathroom and dressing room and, secondly, a large common area to work in and to welcome guests.

The unusual envelope of the building, a 1.65m height and the accompanying sloping ceiling along the perimeter, together with the position of the access core and the single load-bearing wall, lead us to resolve the program through the introduction of custom-made furniture which creates spaces in an ambivalent and even ambiguous way. Sofas that are beds turn into desks, beds that are wardrobes turn into bathtubs. As a representation of this fluidity of spaces, beyond the obligatory access door, the apartment has only has one door; that of the courtesy bathroom, for the guests’ convenience.

In parallel, the long south façade is resolved with a unifying shelving-element which collects together and emphasises the run of existing windows. The depth of this element, together with improvements to the thermal performance, raises the height and proportion of the interior within the living area.

As a last detail, a pink marble Ionic pilaster on the head of the load-bearing wall, symbolically reinforces it and creates a figurative presence within the general calm of the interior.

Notes

Photographs © José Hevia

Many thanks to Inès Martinel and AMOO Studio SCP for their help in posting this piece.

Published 25th September 2020