This project involves the renovation of a 115 m² apartment located on the principal floor of a mid-block building constructed in the 1930s in Barcelona’s Eixample Esquerra. Originally designed as a ground floor plus two-storey building, it underwent a major transformation in the 1970s with the addition of six extra floors. This out-of-scale vertical extension has strongly conditioned the current design, as the structural walls of the apartment now support an excessive and disproportionate load. For this reason, the intervention had to be carried out without any structural modifications.
The new layout is based on a clear intention: to maximize visual and spatial connections between the two façades, enhancing both light and cross ventilation. To achieve this, all non-structural partitions in the central part of the apartment were removed, creating a generous threshold space that serves as a transition between the two orientations of the home.

Between the kitchen and the common areas—the living room facing Mallorca street and the study facing the inner courtyard—a series of «buffer zones» are introduced. These transitional spaces accommodate the children’s bedrooms and two bathrooms. It is within these areas that the original wooden doors of the apartment have been carefully restored and repositioned, creating internal “façades” that give depth and identity to the circulation spaces.
At the heart of this new configuration is the kitchen, conceived as the central social space of the apartment. Designed around a custom-made island, it becomes a dynamic, sculptural element that invites gathering and interaction. The appliances and storage units are hidden behind continuous paneling, resulting in a clean, neutral, and elegant atmosphere—one that welcomes and encourages daily living.

Aligned with this approach of recovery and reuse, the original hydraulic floor tiles have also been preserved. The pre-existing layout, defined by a somewhat kitsch pattern, was dismantled and recomposed into a more abstract and contemporary geometry. This strategy retains the material’s memory while offering a renewed and coherent expression. All windows have been fitted with high-efficiency glazing, and both exterior and courtyard façades have been thermally insulated to reduce the apartment’s energy demand.
A key gesture in the project was to uncover and expose the original vaulted brick and steel-beam ceiling structure, which had been previously hidden. This decision, along with the visible new reinforcements introduced through the redistribution process, brings a raw texture and spatial character to the home.

Chromatically, the tones of the bathroom tiles were selected to harmonize with the warm hues of the original floor. Walls, carpentry, and the island unit follow a palette of greys and browns, which extends into the transitional “buffer” zones. This chromatic continuity creates a rhythm of compression and release along the sequence of rooms, shaping a calm and cohesive spatial experience throughout the apartment.

Team:

Architects: Metronom
Team: Maria Amat, Albert Casas, Arnau Espona, Elsa von Mallinckrodt, Ludovica di Lernia
Photographer: Simone Marcolin 
Contractor: Triflex