Located in Barcelona's Sants district, Spain, LAOS transformed a 1950s residential building into a flexible public facility. Originally characterised by structural decay, highly compartmentalised spaces, and poor natural ventilation, the building underwent a comprehensive architectural transformation to prioritise community activities. The project redefines public facility rehabilitation by optimising the spatial and environmental performance of the existing footprint while honouring its urban identity and neighbourhood memory.
Preserving urban memory
Due to the structural condition of the original building and the objective to optimise natural daylight, ventilation, and internal circulation, the intervention preserves only the original street facade and the first structural bay. This section was retained for its structural integrity and historical alignment with the streetscape. The remaining compartmentalised sections of the residential block were dismantled and replaced with a lightweight structure, lowering the demand for raw building materials and minimising structural interventions on the existing foundations.
Low impact materiality
The new elements are executed using a light metallic structure combined with cross-laminated timber (CLT) floor slabs. This system reduces the dead load on the existing foundations and streamlines the assembly process. The dry-construction logic is designed for future deconstructability, facilitating material separation and circular reuse. In the preserved areas, original masonry and structural elements were cleaned, repaired, and left exposed, avoiding synthetic finishes while reinforcing the building's material memory.
Passive performance
The central element of the project is a covered, triple-height atrium that serves as both a social core and a climatic regulator. This central void acts to manage the indoor climate. Cross-ventilation is achieved by pulling air through operable windows on the perimeter, which flows across the open floor plates and rises through the central atrium, then escapes through automated vents in the glazed roof. The thermal mass of the preserved brick masonry moderates daily temperature swings, while the layout harnesses the subsoil's thermal inertia. Additionally, the restored original facade incorporates high-performance glazing and upgraded thermal insulation to improve overall energy efficiency.
