Description

A firewall construction on a narrow (4 m wide) street. The building’s mass was broken down into three individual blocks. This was done not so much out of the architect’s concern for the apartments’ qualities, but rather to seize the chance to bring light into the shaded Ciutat Vella quarter. The boxes of varying heights sit atop a shared base which tapers such that it pours the life of the main street into the side street like a funnel. Shops (ground floor), entry to the underground garage, an office (second floor), and two entries to the upper stories occupy this shared base. From the entry on the ground floor, one has two stairwells, each with elevator. These split into three on the second floor. The apartments are reached by these double- and triple-loaded stairwells.

The units are all compact 3-room apartments of similar composition. The living rooms are set in the corner and open onto the street, underscoring the new – mainly visual – relationship established by the base beneath. The living rooms give access to the narrow kitchens, while all other rooms are reached by a short hall. Each of the three blocks is turned and situated such that slits of light are created between it and the firewall. Some spaces are lit only from small loggias. In most cases these loggias are attached to the bedroom; while others adjoin the kitchen.

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Originally published in: Oliver Heckmann, Friederike Schneider (eds.), Floor Plan Manual Housing, fourth revised and expanded edition, Birkhäuser, 2011.