Dwellings at Riera Sant Miquel

Location: Barcelona, Spain
Arch. Coll: E. López, D. Obón, F. Soppelsa
Year: 2003 – 2005
M²: 461
Promoter: Meiral S.L
Constructer: Edilmodul

This project consists of two building volumes, one with a ground floor and one floor high, the second floor facing the street, and another with a ground floor and basement inside the block, with a total of five duplexes with a garden or a terrace. The site is enclosed between un-regulated buildings built before the approval of Barcelona’s Metropolitan General Building Plan. The street facade is covered with a series of iroko wood planks which mask the openings, strictly speaking. In this way, the entire facade will be transformed into a single lattice, like an Advent calendar, in an attempt to close it off from the street and turn inwards towards the tranquil inner courtyard. In a hostile environment, perhaps the best way of isolating yourself is to turn your back on the world and produce a sort of architecture that is lost in thought. At night, the entire facade becomes a single lantern of light.