BUILDING IN THE BARCELONETA DISTRICT. BARCELONA

This 10-apartment building occupies a plot in the historic grid of the Barceloneta district, with a façade on the avenue leading to the old port of Barcelona and expansive views of the city.

The plots in the layout designed by the Flemish military engineer Prosper van Verboom and developed by the commander of the engineer corps Juan Martín Cermeño in the mid-eighteenth century are 8.4 x 8.4 metres and were originally intended to be two-storey single-family houses. The depth of the plots facing onto the avenue increases to 14.75 metres.

Two dual-aspect one-bedroom apartments per floor are distributed around a stairwell and lift. The main façade, which is distinguished by a central balcony, is planned to be as open as possible, both to favour views and sunshine, and to provide a light image, with an interplay of heavy shadows that is discreetly incorporated into the built volume of the façade on the avenue.

In order to create ground floor premises using the entire width of the plot on a highly commercial avenue, access to the homes is via the rear façade, and organised based on the compositional design of the historic building model.