Morales House

In the Les Corts neighborhood, remnants of the original small municipality that was later absorbed into Barcelona can still be found. Some streets in this area have managed to retain the character of a less ambitious built environment compared to the grand city. One such street is Calle Morales, where, despite new architecture making its mark, the atmosphere is more in line with the original village of Les Corts than with the expansion of the city’s urban fabric.

The developer’s intent was to create residences that respected the qualities of the area as much as possible. One of the urban planning constraints imposed by the Barcelona City Council’s Heritage Department was crucial in shaping this project differently from conventional approaches. The requirement to preserve the façade of number 34, which was listed, led to the decision to also retain the façade of number 32. This approach helped avoid the disruption of the original “landscape” by new architecture. Consequently, the project envisioned the residences not as units stacked on floors sharing a staircase core but as vertically developed homes, similar to row houses with independent street access. The program consists of residences distributed across three floors.

What adds value to this project is how the buildings “breathe” through their façades and courtyards. Despite their small size, as they only appear starting from the first floor, these courtyards manage to bring sunlight to the inner areas of the building. The ground floors, dedicated to common areas like the kitchen, dining, and living rooms, are free of partitions, creating open spaces that seamlessly connect to the interior garden courtyards.

A significant aspect of the initial design was the preservation of the original façades, which led to the new building’s façade being set back from the street alignment. The space between the original façade of number 32 and the new building is addressed with a landscaped courtyard.

Even with the original façades retained, the design successfully introduces a new sense of openness to the street, with a garden at the forefront.