The ground floor is located in the neighborhood of Sarrià, in Barcelona, in a building between party walls from the beginnings of the century. There is a courtyard inside the south-west facing block. It was in a very precarious condition with a lot of dampness, a poor state of sanitation and termites in the wooden beams.
The renovation aims to improve a clearly deficient and unbalanced distribution, in addition to improving its condition of comfort, as much thermal as of the distribution of natural light. Part of the perimeter has been dry lined and ventilated, and a piece of sanitary wrought iron covers the entire surface.
The new interior layout places the common spaces near the courtyard, opening itself up to its entire width while searching for a relationship with the exterior. There is, to one side of the dwelling, a series of items of furniture, where the kitchen can also be found.
The rehabilitation is respectful of the value of the building, its memory and the traces of its past. The main room is a box introduced into the renovated space formed by doors recovered from the dwelling.
All the materials used are simple, without pretension and treated with their natural appearance. Three types of finish have been used: a shiny one in closets and kitchen, a matte one on the floor and the other is warm from re-used wood.
The dwelling has been treated like a machine by the installation of a home automation system that controls energy expenditure. Whether the blinds are open or closed depends on solar incidence, which generates cross-ventilation when there is an increase of temperature. Underfloor heating, powered by an aero-thermic machine, controls the temperature. The integration of the electric and audiovisual installation takes advantage of the home automation system.
