Rocha Apartment
Barcelona, Spain
2014
CATEGORY
RESIDENTIAL / COMPLETE RENOVATION
TEAM
COLOMBO AND SERBOLI ARCHITECTURE
SURFACE
170m2 + 10m2 terrace
STATUS
COMPLETED
PHOTOGRAPHY
The brief was to transform this neglected, very badly distributed apartment into an attractive holiday home. The property is located in an extremely central street, on the sixth floor of an art nouveau building. Nonetheless, this last floor was built in the ’60 and lacked the charm of the rest of the construction.
In order to meet the brief, spaces had to be re-thought completely, all existing partition demolished. The budget was tight and clever solutions were required to complete the needs providing an attractive, contemporary holiday atmosphere.
Our client required four bedrooms and four bathrooms, of which only one isn’t en-suite. The kitchen has been moved to be part of the wide living and to make space for an extra bedroom.
The chosen palette of materials includes light grey micro-cement continuous floors, natural timber, and a dash of a different colour for each bathroom. The rest is white.
The day area was opened up completely by including what used to be a wide, semi-dark entrance space into the new bright living area.
Special attention has been given to the creation of a new zone, a relax area across interior and exterior.
The terrace that had been closed off years ago, has now been resumed, and extended towards the interior, in the living room, by treating part of the indoor space as outdoor. The inner area has been lifted at the same level as the exterior. We used the typical “rasilla” terracotta tiles to clad the floor as well as the new masonry seats unfolding all around the relax area. One of these seats is right below a window, allowing seating looking inside or outside.
The outdoor portion of the terrace has been visually extended to the indoor relax area by extending the wooden slats canopy. Walls were also treated on the inside with the same rough plaster used for the terrace walls.
On the opposite side, a bar table prolongs on the outside through the newly opened arc window, to form an outdoor dining table. In the arched opening (previously bricked) we inserted a pivoting window.
The custom made white tubes structures are one of the themes carried through the whole project. They form the terrace table and bar, as well as in the kitchen island, the entrance screen, and all the bathrooms. The kitchen island block is intended to allow to cook facing the living area and the same surface of the electric fires continues to create a dining table suitable for six people, lit subtly by the streamlined lamp hanging above.
The backsplash is finished in matt white ceramic tiles that also clad the shelf that project on top of the kitchen plan and hides a light to illuminate the kitchen worktop. The tiled wall surface crosses from the kitchen to bar, unifying visually the two areas surrounding the fireplace volume.
“When we acquired this apartment it was in a terrible state and needed and urgent refurbishment, w
e are extremely happy with the result: now we have precious apartment that we couldn't even dream of, totally functional and modern-looking.”
— Matt Rocha
A great wooden pivoting door spins to give access to the night area, framed by the teal colour of the walls and ceiling.
The first bedroom is the smallest and is followed by the communal bathroom, tiled with blue ceramics and a bright yellow grout, whose shower opens on a small patio that’s been retrieved and filled with plants.
The bedrooms are simple, but detailed, with layers of floor-to-ceiling drapery soften the matt light grey micro-cement floors and bathrooms open onto the space adding a dash of coloured ceramic tiles, pink, yellow or light green, grouted with a contrast colour.
Showers are open, separated by a great glass partition. Washbasins are mounted on the specially designed white tube structures, with tilted square mirrors to allow natural light, and form towel hangers and very simple clothes racks.
On walls above the beds and in the entrance we chose to hang the beautiful graphic work of Dutch artist Sigrid Calon, that matches beautifully the language of the apartment.
Living room seats and tea table are by Barcelona-based furniture firm Lobster’s Day.
The relax area’s cushions are made-by-measure with a Japanese fabric featuring an arch motif recalling the window, the niche and the dome on the outside.
