Innovative recovery in Barcelona. Peace and tranquility in the heart of the city

Miel Arquitectos and P10 deconstruct the rigid barriers of the late 19th century design. The northern front of the apartment has been designed to convey the light reflected from the buildings in front of it and from the courtyard. The main objective is to use the 48 m2 space to create individual areas that create a flexible response to residential needs, such as work, rest, recreation, industry and hygiene

The strategy of the intervention is to connect a space for personal and social use within a double layer. A nest of tranquillity positioned in the centre of the space, acting as a diagonal channel, allowing light to penetrate deeply into the living and working areas, continuing on to the kitchen and finally the bathroom

In this way the bedroom, which is usually rarely used during the day, becomes a place of passage of air and light and can be used as a bench, a seat or perhaps an improvised stage for those nights when time seems to have stopped

The nest is wrapped in oak wood and made more intimate with some curtains and a sliding door. It is in a privileged position of isolation. The designers hide the air conditioning units behind the guest bed

A door, which also functions as a blackboard and a curtain creates an ambivalent relationship between the kitchen and the bathroom, with the sink between the two. The black tiles in the bathroom enhance the shadows and their clean lines contrast with the imperfections of the 19th century exposed brick walls

Miel Arquitectos lays bare the layers of time, the emergence of Eixample and all the intertwined lives and stories, shows the contrast with the flexible existence of the nomads of the 21st century