APARMENTS
IN BARCELONA
A residential complex of 344 housing units in Barcelona – of which 201 are fixed-priced and 143 are free-priced – advocates a new idea of an urban square and the use of green areas, and offers exceptional views.
Located in Barcelona, it is a residential project for Culmia residential development platform that comprises 344 housing units, of which 201 are fixed-priced and 143 are free-priced.
The block is in the Marina del Prat Vermell, one of the latest industrial sectors that’s being transformed into a new neighborhood with high environmental and ecological values, and with the desire to become a new residential and business center next to the Barcelona Fair, the port, and close to the airport.
In total, the development occupies an area of 50,000 m2 divided between fixed-price, free-priced housing and .
The complex takes, as a reference, one of the most important historical transformations experienced by the Catalan capital, the Cerdá Plan of 1860. Conceived by the engineer Ildefonso Cerdá, it was based on a checkerboard-shaped structure whose most exceptional characteristics were the chamfered corners and the incorporation of gardens in the heart of the block.
The design reinterprets the history and urban planning designed by Cerdá in his day and proposes the consolidation of the central courtyard. The result is an interior garden that extends the surrounding green areas. This central space, like an urban square, not only comprises the entrance floor but also spans in height and includes the common areas located on the roofs of the first floors.
As if they were superimposed pieces, the common areas of the roofs reach the highest points of the building and offer exceptional views of the Marina del Prat Vermell.
The design of this residential compound also reinterprets the Modulor concept proposed by Le Corbusier, which posits the mathematical relationship between the measurements of man and Nature. Therefore, the building’s concept is the result of the repetition of a three-dimensional cubic matrix. Based on this approach, some units are concealed while simultaneously, a movement of the envelope’s surfaces is set forth. The building ‘sponges’: It favors the entry of light and ventilation and, at the same time, gives the façades a strong sense of movement.
The common areas are inspired by the lyrical painting of Joan Miró. Native species (in need of little care) are planted on the roofs, and the garages are built under the building to free up the central area of ‘The Square’ to plant tres.