The building is located in the Gothic quarter in the old city of Barcelona. It is close to the famous Ramblas, the cathedral and the port.

The property is on two levels. On the first, a bathroom with basin, toilet and 2 showers, a single sleeping space, access to a patio with table, chairs and plants, and a large living room.

The spacious 645 sq ft lounge is sunny and bright with its 3 large windows (2 with balconies). There are 4 areas in this room; a seating area with sofa, armchairs, coffee table, then a dining area with a huge table, a desk area and finally a kitchen with a staircase leading to the mezzanine which has a sofa-bed that is comfortable for 2 people. The mezzanine leads to a bedroom with a double bed. This room has a view of the hallway and a skylight.

This loft of 170 m2 is located in a building built in Barcelona over a century ago, which was previously textile workshop. This space has kept most of the original structures and attractive unified space, all painted them white: wrought iron columns to ceiling originally black-and-run lengthwise environment, wooden beams, cut by a steel rail and the 4 meters mark open architecture.

Natural light, one of the key points of this house comes from a wall-hung windows, mostly original, ensuring that all day.

This authentic home belongs to Barbara Aurell,  designer at Espacio en Blanco (White Space), the concept of whiteness being sustained by her own house. It is situated in the neighborhood of Garcia de Barcelona and its main objective was that of taking advantage of the 70 m2 space on two heights and, at the same time, of the natural space offered by the entrance window. The 20 m2 yard gives clarity, the space offering a harmonious line from the entrance to the living area and creating a pleasant atmosphere that makes you feel at ease.

The general air is that of an industrial loft with white walls, but without loosing the character of home. The interior provides an intelligent combination of vintage and modern decorative objects that reveal the personality of the owner (the sofa, the chaise longue are only a few details that contribute to the general character.)

The light definitely occupies an important place, offering a distinctive ambient (both the natural light and the light offered by the lamps).The whiteness of the walls makes everything seem more spacious, while the shades of red and the contrast with black add a tone of personality to the house.

It took the ingenuity of interior designer Estrella Salietti to transform such a rough structure into her colorful and perky home. In keeping with the history of the space, Estrella used graphic elements, like the green arrow in the entrance, as a reference to traffic. The balance between the industrial elements kept from the original space and the softer additions to the decor is just right — maintaining some of the raw feel of the garage intact. It’s quite obvious she’s not afraid of using color, especially with the shinny black floors she decided to use throughout her home. By the way, can you guess what her favorite color is? It rhymes with dream… Exactly what this place is.

Images Adriana Bufi/Kaspel images via Mixr

His studio has been published a few times, but every time I see his work, I am stopped dead in my tracks. The studio, Contemporain, consists of Lázaro and his team of eight interior, industrial, and graphic designers. Housed in a former cotton warehouse, the atelier is chock full of interesting design prototypes, custom furniture pieces, objet dâ€art, and various paintings (by his own hand). Current projects range from hotels in Costa Brava and Buenos Aires, to restaurants in Mallorca and Morocco.

Barcelona is such an insanely beautiful city, and after having been reacquainted with this designerâ€s work, I just may need to plan a trip there sometime soon! Enjoy the slideshow, and take a look at his portfolio as well.

The bronze from from 1900 was once a ceiling decoration while the chandelier was designed by Paco Rabanne.

The leather Chesterfield sofas are from Belgium and the coffee table the white leather chairs were custom dsigned by Contemporain Studio.

Stucco rosettes look like sculptures on Chinese console tables.

The leather and chrome chairs in the meeting area are from the 1960’s and sit around a prototype table from Contemporain. The upholstered “waiting canape” is from an old hotel in Marseilles.

The artwork is by Lázaro Rosa-Violán.

I don’t know many designers who would hang Chinese screens in a kitchen but they look amazing.

Lázaro Rosa-Violán has a great eye for chairs. These are Swedish office chairs from the 1960’s.

The wood paneling in the bathroom came from a textiles warehouse and headquarters. The tub is by Philippe Starck and the stool Sempre. The entire place is the epitome of chic but if worked here, I would definitely hold every meeting outdoors. Now, wasn’t that worth looking at again?!

This was once a buzzing, thriving factory where people came to work day after day to produce fabrics and textiles. The huge space could have been daunting but, instead of feeling negative about it, Cristina plunged into a whirl of ideas and thoughts about how to make this vast area into various living zones without adding partitions or walls.

When she first designed it she was very particular that it should be a continuous space. The bedroom for example, is cleverly concealed behind the chimney and is only cut off from the living area by heavy curtains. Cristina has deliberately kept as many of the original features as possible like the brick walls and columns and where she has had to replace things she has tried to keep everything as authentic as possible. The wooden floor is made up from old railway sleepers and the windows, although brand new, are based on the old wooden ones but with an enamel covering.

Everything is based on industrial design. The sunken bath is made of polished concrete and is reminiscent of a Moorish bathhouse where Cristina and her family can relax as well as bathe. The fact that the whole house has no vivid colours and is very neutral means that you can walk from area to area and continuously feel at one. ‘I wanted to make this one large space that we could live in together, eat, sleep, bathe and work. It is very important that everything blends into one so I couldnâ€t have lots of colour otherwise it just would never have worked as it does. I love the tranquillity – the negative colours work here perfectly and it isnâ€t necessary to break it up.â€

The L-shaped floor plan has two areas – the private one that is the main sitting area, bed and bathroom plus a guest room and then there is the kitchen, dining room and chill out space. Where Cristina has been particularly clever is in her design of the furniture. Often in such large spaces the furniture is totally out of proportion, but everything here is definitely on the large side and the scale of the high settees, huge lampshades and fabulous Indonesian kitchen chairs work really well.

Particularly fun are the swing and vast steel interlocking rings that are not just eye catching but are Cristinaâ€s personal touch. ‘Itâ€s rather like having a signature, I just wanted to make everyone smile when they walked in!†Everything is very geometric – the straight lines of the furniture, the way the kitchen and dining room tables are aligned but Cristina likes it that way ‘It gives expression to everything and a sort of silent elegance.â€

After being in the apartment for a while you do unwind – you feel that the furniture doesnâ€t invade your space – there is room to breathe and certainly on a stiflingly hot day in the middle of summer it must be a lifesaver to retreat back to this cool, calm scene.

Cristina Rodriguez-Lâ€Atelier.
cristinarodriguez.com.es T: +34 93 200 14 56.

Photos ©2004 Ken Sparkes Words: Lynda Clark.
First published in SPACES issue 07 ©2004 Polygon Publishing Ltd

Husked splendor

Medieval stone walls, bare ceilings and peeling stucco were all preserved with varnish to keep much of the original look of the space. Layers of stone are mounted on wooden boards, so the floor seems to merge with the wall. The architect also used white modular furniture to further brighten the interior.

Smart design

The’white cross’ in the middle of the apartment consists of the kitchen and bathroom. Open to all rooms, it forms central axis of the apartment. “Dedicated and peripheral areas are there to emphasize the boundary between new and old.

Vyurstman used his familiar approach to “non-binding architecture” and hides part of the premises . The bathroom is located behind a sliding wall, the kitchen is integrated into the white structure and childrens’ room turns into a bath when you remove the roof panels. There are options for reallocation of spaces and recesses so that children can choose where to sleep

The owner of this live-work loft ran into this neoclassical building while browsing the internet, looking for a flat. Built in 1930, in the Eixample district and it was love at first sight. The condition was dilapidated, with serious structural problems, pillars and wooden beams corroded, cracked walls, columns, dismounted, destroyed windows, patios covered with garbage. But after eight months of work, forty containers of debris and a total rehabilitation by Invest Pedralbes, it became the perfect place to live.

Distributed on two floors, the house is a large rectangular area with windows on both sides, containing courtyards with brick columns. The entrance leads to a large open space, preceded by an anteroom – a 100 m2 lounge – kitchen, dining room, office and various seating areas. The bottom floor is the bedroom area and bathroom. The remodel did restore the original structure, but also opened up additional skylights. All the flooring was removed and the walls were stripped to bricks. The windows were replaced with bare metal frames. To help with insulation, a double roof has been installed with an air chamber to have a optimal climate and ecology. Heating is provided with oil radiators and heated towel rails. The natural light is abundant and comes from windows, skylights and patios.

The interior design work of Pedralbes Invest Minim, has been done according to the wishes of the owners: use all the furniture in their former home, including valuable individual pieces as well as collections of different objects from all parts of the world. Don’t add anything or rule out anything. The place needed to be big, but also warm, comfortable and cozy.

Taking the concept of origami, the forms in this apartment are folded to maximize space and give it dynamic at the same time. The true self of the Origami Home unfolds inside the enclosure that dominates the space. The architects say they have used this

“as the essence of the project as the beating heart the importance of which is based on the surprise of forms, in an interior full of diagonal movement.”

In this 49 m² apartment, the architects have worked the space to get more out of it by designing a truly three-dimensional space. From the entrance, the white wooden structure runs through the various parts of the space like a folding paper. It leads us through the living room, dining room, kitchen, and laundry, leaving each a distinct identity and the independence required in specific cases, such as the bathroom or bedroom. The different areas also open onto this structure to give the illusion of space and freedom of movement.

I should mention the technology used in this apartment, including a new research project, In.home, in which Whirlpool has explored the spatial relationships between product and the user. The “habitable fold” as the architects have decided to call it, includes some of the latest and most sophisticated appliances on the market, even some prototypes. For example, the laundry area, one column does the washing and drying of clothes, while another one aerates and irons your clothes with dry steam.

The wooden frame protects the inhabitants and leads the visitor while it folds articulating the ways of getting around the flat. The entrance opens into the common areas and the structure keeps private ones hidden. Following a spiral motion, stairs give access to the higher level, where the bedroom is. The black floor is Compac Marble & Quartz.

Lighting is mainly done with spotlights, highlighting the special places of the house.

The dining room has been located in the passageway between the kitchen and living area. The cutlery if Faces from Ferran Adrià , produced by Design Mix Collections.

In the dining room table has recessed black stone hob.

The space under the stairs leading to the area bedroom has been converted into a toilet. Vases are from Habitat.

The fold that forms the structure houses the bed above which is accessed by steps

The seating area is arranged in a gentle slope facing the TV. The sofa is designed by the architects. In the background you can see the laundry room.