Gallery House
Gràcia, Barcelona 2015-2017
Rehabilitation of a dwelling. Built work
- Architect: Carles Enrich Studio
- Collaborators: MASAad (structure)
- Client: Private
- Contractors: Green Management, Ifusta (joinery)
- Surface area: 210,50 sqm
- Photographs: Adrià Goula
- Awards: Nominated EU Mies Award, Selected FAD Awards, Selected Catalunya Construcció Awards
We were presented with a dwelling on the main floor of a mid-twentieth century building in the district of Gràcia, fragmented into small spaces that were connected by dark corridors with little relation to the outside. The chosen strategy was to enhance the existing space as a permeable gallery between the street and the inner courtyards as a sequence of habitable thresholds. Discovering and exploiting the layers of materials superposed over the years was also to become an important strategy.
The first operation was to strip the envelope of its ceilings, walls and floors. We conducted a selective demolition to reuse the cement tiles and the bricks of the partition walls. The main space became a succession of ambiences connected by broad porticos, creating visual depth and dual circulation around the dwelling. New structures were added to improve the practical needs of the occupants: in the bedroom area, a wooden feature acts as a hallway and storage space, and, in the courtyard, a structure of metal bars and ropes becomes a pergola that provides shade in summer and a stairway up to the roof of the annexe.
