Recovering an old town house | Glòria Duran Arquitecte - Pol Rigau Interiorista

Town house from 1850 built on a long and narrow plot. The building consists of a two-story main body located with a street facade and two auxiliary buildings along the garden.

A new distribution is proposed, reversing the programs. The service rooms and garage are located in the body that faces the street and the day areas and main rooms are moved to the auxiliary building so that they participate in the exterior garden. On the ground floor a unitary space is created. The open kitchen under a recovered Catalan volta gives way to the dining room and the double-height living room, where two environments are differentiated thanks to a fireplace designed especially for this space. The front of this building opens with a large glass window on two levels, allowing a view of the entire garden and integrating the existing well in the porch inside. Silhouetted against the glass, a transparent staircase leads to the outside and communicates directly through a walkway over the double space with the master suite on the first floor.

Taking advantage of the natural profile of the patio, two garden areas are proposed at different levels, one at the level of the kitchen and living room, and another upper one with the infinity pool and overflow with waterfall to the lower garden. Along this level, the existing auxiliary construction is rehabilitated, creating a large porch and a pavilion for a wellness area with a steam sauna and mini-pool. The wooden flooring inside the Spa extends into the pool deck, leaving the space fully integrated into the porch and the pool thanks to large retractable glass windows. Lighting has played a leading role in defining the spaces, creating warm, serene and harmonious environments and enhancing the night vision of the garden. All lighting, both interior and exterior, is LED technology.

The new distribution has allowed the elimination of architectural barriers, creating accessible routes and spaces and has been rehabilitated following sustainability criteria. The roofs and floors are thermally insulated, the windows and balcony doors are new with thermal break and double low-e glazing, and it has solar panels to provide hot water for both the home and the SPA. The home has a home automation system to control lighting, air conditioning and various automations.