It started out life as a motorcycle workshop, then abandoned, it became home to the local Barcelonian squatters. Now the 55sqm space is both a hideaway and a living studio for a young, world-travelling, entrepreneur. Architects Sarriera-Weinstock have transformed this low, cave-like space into a home that allows the owner to chose between engaging in the dynamic city around him or to retreat and curl up when the world becomes to hectic.

All spaces come with their challenges; one of them in this case was the extremely low ceiling. The other was the proximity of the apartment’s frontage to the street. The existing front door opened straight out onto it. The local neighbour runs a social club, a bar. And with bars come noisy patrons who liked to stand around outside drinking and chatting long into the night. The solution was to create an entrance, a space to buffer the noise of the outside street festivities and also to allow a transition into the studio. The cunning plan was to integrate a garden courtyard that not only offered acoustic privacy but a visual one as well. It also had the added benefit of letting light into the studio.

‘The buffer’ or the transitional space was visually and physically reinforced by creating two layers to the exterior façade of the building. The first layer is a simple folding door made from a light-permeable, perforated, steel sheet. You can open this door completely allowing a complete immersion into the activities outside or close it. But even closed it offers a gradient of visual privacy to the apartment. The second layer is a glazed, metal framed, sliding window. This reduces the direct noise coming from the pedestrian street outside. “The space between these two skins can be totally or partially opened, with a large number of variations. A metal built-in bench completes the setup, ideal for reunions and dining or simply smoking and reading or chilling when in desire to look and gaze at the wonders of melting pot street life,” said the architect.

It’s a simple design – two main areas, the front area a combined living/dining/work space opening up onto the delightful garden, and at the back, the bedroom. The challenge was not just coming up with a design within the constraints of small square meterage but designing a small space with those terribly low ceilings. To counteract the low-slung ceilings, the architects ran a single floor finish throughout the studio, a white epoxy resin.

“One of the studios most inconvenient trait was the low ceilings which automatically made one feel they had to duck once entering the space, thus, it was decided to use a continuous ethereal flooring material which could reflect the space and create a greater sense of amplitude. This was done by using white epoxy resin flooring with an extra coat of gloss to strengthen the reflection and create the effect of a floating floor, countering the perception of low ceiling and enhancing the feeling of a cosy haven,” said the architects. The flooring runs all the way through the apartment including the bathroom, moulding the very bath itself as it wraps it’s way around the space, creating one continuous surface.

For a space that could easily feel cramped and terribly noisy, the world’s worst combination of living conditions, Sarriera-Weinstock have managed to manifested a vision that allows integration with the bustling city of Barcelona when the mood strikes, a retreat when the soul requires soothing and a capacity to modify the space to engage in both. It’s a beautiful example of what can be achieved in small spaces and how the best things often do come in the smallest packages.

[Photography © Jose Hevia.]