Pau Casals apartments

The flat in question does not differ from others in terms of layout. A central corridor gives access to each of the rooms that make up the dwelling, leaving the bedrooms in the part that gives on to the interior courtyard of the block and the lighting courtyards, the bathrooms and the kitchen linked to the interior courtyards, and the communal rooms, the living room and the dining room, at the end of the flat that opens on to the street.

The refurbishment is to maintain the existing number of bedrooms and basically focuses on the redistribution of the communal areas.

Once again, the aim is to give greater amplitude to each of the spaces by eliminating partitions, which will in turn allow more natural light to enter from the windows of the main façade towards the more interior parts of the flat.

The kitchen and dining room will share the same space, open on one side to the hall and on the other to the living room. We could say that, with the refurbishment, the communal areas are grouped together at one end of the flat without any dividers between them, allowing for fluid circulation as if they were a single space.

We adapt the layout to the new way of living the spaces of our times is the premise and the objective of the renovation. And with this, the differentiation between the private spaces destined for bedrooms, study, bathrooms, etc., which maintain their original dimensions, and the communal spaces destined for the entrance hall, kitchen, dining room and living room, which are grouped together in a single space, although sometimes intercommunicated by passages of limited size, becomes even more evident.

We worked with natural wood in the flooring, in the cladding of some walls and in the kitchen furniture to give warmth to the space.

We work with colours to accentuate light and shade.

We work with fabrics to obtain greater comfort.

We work with noble materials to provide quality.

We play with artificial light to add “accents”.

We use all available tools to build a new interior in an existing space that has its own constraints and limits.

One of the objectives was to bring the natural light coming into the flat from the main façade into the more interior spaces. The elimination of dividing walls was the main thing to achieve this, but using a light colour in the living room space was equally important. This piece became a very striking light box from the interior spaces. The use of more shaded colours in the kitchen-dining area highlights the passageways into the living room, which are dazzling during the day. 

On the other hand, there is the artificial lighting we have used in the kitchen-dining area. Concentrated spotlights, a 9-degree beam of light, in the kitchen area give some theatricality to this shaded space and the wood veneer lamps above the dining table bring warmth and concentrate the light on the table surface which fulfils both the function of a dining and working space.

The kitchen becomes not only a functional space but one in which to be, like the dining room and the living room. It is the lighting that will make the difference between a kitchen as a workspace and the kitchen as a living space.