Located in one of the first high-rise buildings in Barcelona, on a busy road at the entrance to the city, this house conceals something very surprising. Its partitioned interior leads to a luscious apple-green oasis, full of sunlight. However, this outdoor space was all but imperceptible from the apartment itself. Therefore, from the outset of this project, strengthening the visual and spatial connection between these two spaces would be key.
With 67 square-metres of floor space, it was spacious enough to accommodate its new owners – a family of three. Yet none of the rooms was big enough to allow its occupants to spend time together or to host guests.They asked Nook Architects to design a new layout that would better suit their lifestyle.
The new layout centres around a gallery-style space at one end of the home, featuring a row of traditional wooden-frame windows that face out over a verdant garden.Nook expanded this space by relocating the bathroom to the other side of the home and opening it up to two adjacent rooms that were previously separate.
But rather than making the room completely open-plan, the architects chose to keep sections of the walls intact. These help to loosely divide it into a kitchen area, a lounge space, and an area for dining and entertaining.
The space also includes a corner snug with a custom-designed daybed.”The bespoke sofa can be transformed into a bed for guests, or simply a place to read or have a siesta,” explained Nook Architects.
Materials and finishes were chosen to match with existing details in the property. Wooden joinery and flooring matches the tones of the original windows, while the terracotta tones of a traditional Catalan vaulted ceiling are complemented by pale mint-green walls.Other details include monochrome floor tiles with a geometric pattern and a white marble kitchen island.
