BED & BLUE | Nook Architects

Some projects are developed under the premise that these will have to be done in separate stages, such is the case of BED & BLUE. Our client purchased two stories of a building in Barcelona because his dream was to run a Bed & Breakfast, but before his final objective could be accomplished he first had to save enough budget and familiarize himself with the neighborhood.  He therefore commissioned us to refurbish the upper floor, for him to live in, and the lower floor as an investment rental to finance his dream in a reasonable amount of time.

The challenge was in defining Project elements that would imprint the lodging’s character and that would remain from the first stage to the last and, on the other hand, to define spaces in the simplest of way, taking into account that these would be transformed on a short-term basis.

One of the elements of the first group was the envelope; the structure was strengthened and the openings were defined bearing in mind the final distribution.  On the main façade, facing the street, wooden windows were crafted to reproduce the original ones and the rear façade aluminum was used as these allowed for a composition with larger openings.   

Another one of these elements were the bathrooms; we wanted to differentiate these from a domestic bathroom in their functionality and use of materials.  We used water-repelling brick for its high durability and low maintenance, gave the shower a gymnasium look and restored the original kitchens’ sink to use as hand wash basins, supported by a small piece of furniture with an extractable drawer for storage.  We left space under these to store luggage.  For the doors, we chose blue, water-repelling wood particle panels, which are durable and contrast against the colors of the clay and the cement.

The kitchen was one of the provisional spaces.  On the second phase, part of its space will accommodate the stairs that will link the two stories and the rest will become a third bathroom.   The cabinets will then be moved to the galley on the lower floor, maintaining the cobalt blue tiles in the same tone as the bathroom doors.  The living room, an austere and diaphanous space, connected to the terrace, is prepared to later be divided into two rooms with independent exits to the exterior. The bedroom located next to the living room on the first phase will become a bathroom on the second one.

We have now finished the works on the upper floor and the lower floor is under construction.  The distribution of this floor will be very similar to the one above, but with an inverted orientation.  The two bedrooms will be located towards the rear and the living room will be oriented towards the pedestrian street.

The Bed & Breakfast, the final target of this project and our client, will have 6 double bedrooms with a private bathroom, each with a balcony or exterior patio, a small galley to prepare breakfasts and a common room on the ground floor oriented towards the main street, through which the guests will enter and distract themselves with the animated street activity.