June 2025. h3o architects, the Barcelona-based architecture studio led by Adrià Orriols, Joan Gener, and Miquel Ruiz, presents Villa Parque, their latest residential renovation located in Barcelona’s Gràcia district. The project is a comprehensive transformation of a 240 m² detached house from the late 19th century. Through a precise and surgical intervention —one that preserves the building’s singular character— the house is given a new life that is more open, bright, and energy-efficient.
The project responds to the desire of a couple entering a new stage in life: to cultivate closeness with their family and re-establish themselves in the neighborhood where they grew up. From this renewed chapter, the home is conceived as a space capable of rekindling bonds and protecting them —a tranquil retreat within the urban fabric.
“Villa Parque has an imposing presence: it’s a spacious house with high ceilings and generous proportions. Yet at the same time, it conveys an intimate and enveloping warmth. Natural light, noble materials, and the constant connection with the garden make the house —despite its scale— feel welcoming, calm, and gentle to those who inhabit it. It’s a place to be, a place to stay,” explain Adrià Orriols, Joan Gener, and Miquel Ruiz of h3o architects.
The spatial sequence is organized into three main areas. On the upper floor —which has direct access from the street and sits elevated above the garden— the daytime and social life unfolds: kitchen, foyer, living room, and dining room are integrated into a spacious, light-filled environment. The lower, semi-basement floor, designed for private and resting areas, offers a more intimate and sheltered atmosphere, with bedrooms that open directly to the outdoors. Finally, the quiet, secluded rear garden is conceived as a natural extension of the adjacent urban park, toward which the house is fully oriented through new openings that enhance permeability and connection between the three realms. This relationship is further reinforced by an exterior staircase linking the upper floor directly to the garden from an expanded balcony that also functions as a lookout.
On a spatial and material level, the interior highlights the duality between the two realms of living. The social area is defined by its brightness and clarity: the traditional volta catalana ceiling is left exposed and whitewashed, contrasting with dark wood furniture, black leather, and the colorful patterns of the original hydraulic tiles —traces of the house’s past. At the same time, the introduction of mirrors along the walls creates reflections and transparencies that extend the connection with the surrounding greenery.
The private area, in contact with the ground, offers a more intimate and contemplative atmosphere, featuring wooden floors and soft finishes in tones ranging from beige to sea green. The original staircase is reinterpreted through a vivid Klein blue treatment, elevating it from a merely functional element to a spatial experience —a chromatic gesture that anchors and articulates the interior.
Outdoors, the garden combines existing vegetation with low-irrigation Mediterranean species. The boundary walls recover their original stone and are covered with a metal mesh for climbing plants that, over time, will create varying layers of shade and weave together architecture and nature into an immersive natural space. The studio has also preserved the façade’s traditional plaster finish, adding textured details such as ceramic drip edges from La Bisbal and the iconic shutters by Persiana Barcelona.
The zigzagging geometry —a distinctive hallmark of the studio— draws inspiration from the site’s natural topography and extends throughout the project: outdoors, it appears in the pathways, the fountain, and the oblique pillar of the balcony; indoors, it reemerges in the kitchen and shelving, ensuring continuity within the home’s architectural language.
Finally, energy efficiency has been a key focus of the renovation. The house is fully insulated, with interior cladding, a ventilated slab, and a thermally conditioned roof to minimize energy loss. In addition, it features an aerothermal climate-control system and collects rainwater from the roof for garden irrigation. A conscious architecture, centered on comfort and efficiency.
Villa Parque by h3o architects is a tribute to memory and the present; it carefully preserves the home’s original spirit while establishing a dialogue between the existing and the new, resulting in a house that —like its inhabitants— returns to its origins with a renewed perspective.
