Freser

Preserving neighbourhood charm

Providing contemporary living spaces within historical residential properties represents both challenges and opportunities. In this case an entire building situated in Camp de l’Arpa, a neighbourhood located on the northern periphery of Barcelona, was refurbished from top to bottom. Two mirror image new apartments replace a former car workshop on the ground floor each with a landscaped garden to the rear, an area that had formerly been abandoned. The upper floors have been entirely re-imagined as light filled and airy open plan apartments with exposed brickwork and volta catalana (Catalan structural vault) or exposed timber beams lending historical character and reflecting the original structure which dates from 1924.

The main apartment entrance and floor landings have been designed to contemporary standards with a lift inserted and the roof is now communal, a shared outdoor terrace space for all the building’s residents to enjoy year round. Modern window joinery and a restored building façade breathe new life into a surrounding streetscape that is a stone’s throw from some of the city’s most iconic architecture.