Cement tiles

COFO architects, a Rotterdam-based firm, has transformed a relatively small and dark apartment into a generous home filled with light and colour. The clients are an empty-nester couple that wanted to convert their family apartment into a place to enjoy the next phase in their life. The design plays with openness and intimacy, introducing diagonal sight lines between functions. The entrance, the kitchen, and the living room are carefully combined into a single generous space where, thanks to the distinctive pavements, each area maintains its own character. A striking cupboard-wall organises the space. This robust and efficient L-shaped element encloses the two bathrooms in the centre of the apartment. Openings and niches lighten the volume... More

Signa is a small town located about 20 km from Florence which boasts very ancient origins and a small historic center with a medieval structure nested within the circle of walls. Nowadays only a few traces of the wall survive. The early years of the twentieth century mark the beginning of a gradual development of the urban fabric that will culminate in the uncontrolled expansion of the 60s and 70s with the construction of a multitude of poor quality buildings, characterized by bad design and cheap materials. Our project consist in the renovation of a flat located in one of these buildings located in a semi-central position close to the park of Villa S. Lorenzo and facing a small square called "Le Corti". The original layout was simple an... More

Apartment Refurbishment in Gran de Gràcia, BarcelonaThe project involves the complete refurbishment of a 160-square-metre apartment, in one of the most important axis of the city.The original plan layout corresponds to the building typology with load-bearing walls parallel to the facade and the rooms positioned to each side of a long corridor.The owners were attracted by the apartment’s traditional typology with its exceptional illumination by the three patios. It had not undergone any fundamental change during its 100-year life.The design was based on the idea to highlight the apartment’s unique atmosphere by preserving the original decorative ceiling mouldings and the original patterned cement tiled floor.In the common areas the original... More

Apartment Refurbishment in la Ribera, BarcelonaThe project involves the full renovation of a dwelling in Barcelona’s La Ribera district. Located inside a 100-year-old building, the apartment had never undergone any substantial modification. It had been kept in quite good condition having preserved still intact the original mosaic floors and decorative ceiling mouldings. Nevertheless it required a full renovation to fulfill the new users’ needs.The owners, a couple with two children, were attracted by the dwelling’s atmosphere with its exceptional illumination by the two patios. They commissioned us to renovate the 105-square-metre apartment, with a brief to create an open plan-living area with a semi-open kitchen while make room for three b... More

Apartment Refurbishment in Poble Nou, BarcelonaThe project involved a full renovation of a top-floor apartment with a terrace, converting its broken layout of long dark corridors into a functional home with plenty of natural light.The owners, a couple with a toddler and a newborn child wanted a space that can evolve to meet their changing needs. Along with increasing the sense of space and connecting the interior with the exterior, we had to fulfill a brief that included a master bedroom with ensuite, two children’s bedrooms, a living room, bathroom, room for an occasional guest that could also function as a playroom/TV-room, and a kitchen for the homeowners that love to cook.The design paid particular attention to highlight the benefits of... More

Situated on top of a hill in the city of Lausanne (Switzerland), this three stories private villa built in the 1930’s benefits from magnificent views of the terraced vineyards of the UNESCO region Lavaux. The architectural intervention was followed by the reconfiguration of the space in order to create three autonomous apartments – one for the owners and two others intended for rent to students or small families. In the lower level apartment, most of the partition walls were demolished to offer more generous living areas with better light conditions. Therefore, spaces are defined by playing with varying levels. Moreover, this 2-room apartment profits from access to the large garden. On the attic, before the transformation, an unusual layout... More

The planning site (D23) is situated in the southwest area of the Seestadt Aspern /1220 Vienna. The three building sections with 4 to 5 storeys and a total of fifty homes are the first freely financed condominiums in this suburb. French windows, brick construction and spaciously dimensioned balconies and terraces ensure an amenable home feeling and revive almost forgotten qualities in housing.A special highlight of the project is formed by the colourfully ornamented cement tiles in the stairwell. Inspired by the aesthetic and tradition of (Viennese) Jugendstil / art nouveau, the modernist design radiates its own unique aura and identification potential for the residents. More

In the hearth of the city in Bozen, in an 18th century building, the first restaurant, market and wine house of the international brand italia&amore, opened its doors.The office of Roland Baldi Architects has been commissioned with the structural and creative implementation of the company concept, which stands for natural, authentic, Italian quality food, that are produced according to ancient traditions by small producers.The restoration work covered up the whole building: the historic façade has been restored. The decorations and the ornaments are maintained while on the ground floor the glass surfaces were united and enlarged to give better luminosity to the interior and greater communication with the pedestrian street.The flagshipst... More