The project took place in the center of one of the most emblematical squares of the Gracia district in Barcelona, where a one-story house with an exterior garden existed. The house embraces a designated heritage façade. Our design addresses the renewal and extension of this house by placing an escalating volume on top of the existing to allow the sunlight to reach the garden. The project integrates the new with the existing and the public with the private through permeable elements and intermediate spaces.
The interior space is composed of a gradual shift of solids and voids, double height spaces and a fluid circulation sequence where the quality of light is controlled. The existing volume is emptied to have a large living room space that develop into the public area of the house. A sculptural spiral staircase connects the four levels and is the centerpiece for the living room. The existing facade is kept intact, the facade of the new extension is conceived as the filter between the external life of the plaza and the interior spaces.
