Housing renovation in Sant Antoni / Parramon + Tahull Arquitectes
Housing renovation in Sant Antoni / Parramon + Tahull Arquitectes
Text description provided by the architects. This typical dwelling in the Ensanche Cerdà district of Barcelona had already been renovated, eliminating all the original woodwork, and the floor was covered with a glued cork carpet.
Despite the possible risk of finding damaged pieces, it was decided to recover the pre-existing hydraulic mosaic floor and a much more open plan layout was chosen, with a kitchen-dining room flooded with light from the block patio and looking for diagonal views that would make it possible to visually enlarge the space.
Since the hydraulic pavement is very varied and with intense colors, it was decided to give it maximum prominence. Therefore, the walls and ceilings are completely white, and the light birch wood provides warmth and texture.
No new partitions were built, only a container piece of furniture that brings together wardrobes, general storage, and the kitchen, made entirely of birch plywood. This material is also used in all custom-made furniture, such as the study table (integrated in the corridor), the bed’s headboard, the bathroom cabinets… All of them are simple furniture, but custom-made for each space. The material repetition manages to unify and give a sense of order to the whole.
During the construction process, a satirical mural against Francoism was discovered on one of the walls, which had been hidden behind a wooden board. It was decided to keep it and now it can be seen at the end of the corridor.
Due to budget limitations, it was not possible to change the exterior carpentry of the gallery, so traditional Alicante-type exterior roller blinds were installed in light wood instead, which allows sun protection in summer without sacrificing light.
The materials are natural and sustainable (marble, mosaic, wood). Thermal comfort is achieved at any time of the year with different strategies: heating with water radiators in winter, artificial air conditioning, and cross ventilation in summer.
