Over time, many of the flats in Barcelona's Eixample have undergone transformations that have made them lose a significant part of their original values: replacement of wooden French doors with others made of anodized aluminium, synthetic flooring that hides the original hydraulic tiles, false ceilings that have lost their mouldings... If we add to this list the drawbacks that some distributions already had from the start -due to the existence of interior rooms without light, for example- or the need to improve the thermal and acoustic behaviour of the envelope – an urgent need in the face of the current climatic challenge-, we will find the description of the state in which the apartment that we present here was.
Sustainability, heritage, and contemporaneity are the three axes on which the intervention carried out is articulated.
The new layout of the flat takes advantage of both the proportions of the floor and the reduced number of people in the family unit for which it is intended. The fact of having two pieces at the front and two at the back and a depth of only 17m allowed it to fluff up its central part so that light could reach it and favour the creation of crossed visuals between the street and the block patio.
The new distribution is organized through four main spaces and two secondary ones. In the centre of the complex there is an open room that accumulates the functions of entrance, distributor, kitchen and dining room, and that constitutes the nucleus of the new house. It is related to the living area, located next to the street, through the two openings in the dividing wall and it is separated from the bedroom, on the quieter side facing the courtyard, through the bathroom area, which acts as a diaphragm between the day zone and the night zone. Between the bedroom and the rear façade, a wide covered gallery is used as a work and reading area while acting as a climatic buffer between the inhabited spaces and the façade with the greatest solar radiation.
A good part of the rehabilitation efforts are focused on improving the energy efficiency and acoustic insulation of the home. The arrangement of the pieces and the way in which they relate to each other are part of this strategy, so that the closures between them allow natural light to reach the central space or the interior of the bathroom. The French windows at the back that had been suppressed are recovered and the aluminium carpentry on the street is replaced by a wooden one. The characteristics of the glass of these closures are determined based on their orientation, also guaranteeing a significant reduction in noise, particularly on the street side. All the walls and a significant part of the divisions with the neighbours have been lined with panels that incorporate various layers of insulation. The ultimate goal is to reduce energy expenditure and increase the thermal and acoustic comfort of users.
Another significant part of the efforts has been aimed at recovering the heritage elements, among which the hydraulic floor was perhaps the most evident since a ceramic floor had been placed on it to which a synthetic parquet had subsequently been fixed. Removing these two added layers was a delicate operation that made it necessary to reconstitute part of the original pavement, removing and repositioning pieces or replacing them with new ones in those areas, such as the gallery, where it was impossible to recover the originals.
Team:
Architects: Jordi Farrando
Engineers: Miguel Rodríguez (STATIC INGENIERÍA S.L.P.U.)
Energy: Joan González Gou
Surveyors: Modest Mor i París (Mor Arquitectura Técnica SL)
Photographer: Adrià Goula
Materials Used:
Windows: Steel, Technal / Blinds, Motura
Interior furniture: Wood, Franpoumar
