Jofre Roca arquitectes - Escudellers apartment, an oasis in the historic center of Barcelona
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Escudellers apartment, an oasis in the historic center of Barcelona

Jofre Roca arquitectes

Renovation  /  Completed
Jofre Roca arquitectes
Escudellers Apartment
Location: Barcelona
Area: 104 sqm
Year: 2018

In the historic center of Barcelona, an apartment is renovated in a building built in 1840 on the emblematic Escudellers Street, which in the middle ages had been the center of the potters' guild. In rehabilitation, we take into account traditional construction techniques. Prioritizing the maintenance of original materials, such as carpentry, moldings, fittings, hydraulic mosaics, and others. These are the apartment main asset and get prominence, being the material of the project.

Access from the street has a decadent character. The itinerary to the apartment is building an experience that will have continuity to its interior. The high ceilings and patios allow natural lighting inside the apartment. Intense experiences are generated meanwhile it moves away from the crazy rhythm of the city.

Concerning the functional program, the existing distribution was modified, according to the current requirements of its users. Now all rooms receive natural light. Two partitions were removed so that the kitchen, dining room, and living room were joined in an open space. As for the materials used in the main bathroom, it was mainly coated by a porous stone. Its color changes when wet and it creates relations and contrasts with games of light and water. It is a volcanic stone that is found in a Catalan area called "La Garrotxa". The design of the apartment uses proximity materials.

The premise is the use and recovery of traditional materials and systems with its historical patina, that are the ones who give a clear added value. The apartment retains the original wooden doors, which were stripped but maintaining the original color of the wood, as well as its moldings and wooden frames.

The moldings of the apartment were in poor condition and had a lot of damage. So they were rebuilt and re-interpreted in a contemporary way. In the apartment, the treatment in the moldings was handmade and thorough in getting the best quality. They were designed so that their limits are blurred, extending their form beyond the usual. The original iron fittings were recovered, as well as the hydraulic pavements, which had to be erected to repair the floor and return to its original position.

The apartment on Escudellers Street is a place to relax, a break, an oasis in the historic center of Barcelona, in one of its busiest streets.

Credits

 Barcelona
 Spain
 Private
 06/2018
 104 mq
 Jofre Roca arquitectes
 Sara Agúndez, Jordi Gendrau
 -
 -
 Adrià Goula Sardà

Curriculum

Architectural firm based in Barcelona that focuses on contemporaneity, sustainability, and sensitivity to the environment. Its efforts concentrate on developing strategies and rigorous methods to create high-quality projects, providing services that add value and for the users’ wellbeing. The firm, Jofre Roca Arquitectes, was founded in 2007 by Jofre Roca Calaf, architect by the Technical Superior Architecture School of Barcelona (ETSAB) and also trained at the Kungliga Tekniska Högskola (KTH) in Stockholm.

https://www.jofreroca.com/


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