Page 93 - AIT0719_E-Paper

Entwurf • Design Cometa Architects, ES-Barcelona
Bauherr • Client privat
Standort • Location ES-Barcelona
Nutzfläche • Floor space 56 m 2
Fotos • Photos José Hevia, ES-Barcelona
Mehr Infos auf Seite • More infos on page 150

MARINA APARTMENT

IN BARCELONA

Extensive beaches, promenades, a vibrant nightlife
and pure culture in Barcelona's city centre – no apart-
ment at the popular Port Olímpic is too small to serve
as a summer residence. With the conversion of a
simple attic apartment, Cometa Architects prove that
less is often more and generous living is possible
even in confined spaces.

O n the occasion of the 1992 Summer Olympics, Barcelona, the
"city with its back to the sea", was given a new orientation.
Where a lot of old factory halls and harbour facilities had blocked
access to the water, Spanish architecture firm MBM planned an at-
tractive sports and yacht marina for sailing competitions, as well as
extensive beach promenades with hotels, cafés and shops. It there-
fore seemed logical that the architects from Cometa, Faidra Matzi-
araki and Victor Gonzalez Martí, placed the connection to Port Olím-
pic at the centre of their designs for a conversion of a 56-square
metre apartment on Calle de la Marina. They removed all the inte-
rior walls of the attic apartment, enlarged the window openings and
cleared the room to allow visual connections. The compact floor
plan is structured by an inserted wooden box, which accommodates
the sanitary facilities, cabinets and installations. The residential
uses are grouped around this built-in unit, with the level of privacy
increasing with each turn. The apartment is entered along an open,
elongated cooking, dining and lounge area, which is completely ori-
ented towards the large balcony glazing and directs the view to the
outside. A quarter turn further, seating steps modelled from the floor
lead to the slightly raised sleeping area, at the front of which two
steps lead down to the shielded rear of the box. The free-standing
bathtub lends a touch of exclusivity to the otherwise unobtrusive,
simple furnishings. The white and floating kitchen furniture on the
front side of the built-in unit is the counterpart and closes the loop.
Visibly laid copper cables and wooden fixtures, luminaires and swit-
ches take up the material and design vocabulary of the yachts in the
harbour. Thanks to a reduction to the essentials and the visual com-
bination of interior and exterior space, the apartment appears to be
generous and spacious. The incident Mediterranean light and the
sea breeze make the proximity of the harbour tangible and conjure
Grundriss • Floor plan up a holiday atmosphere.

AIT 7/8.2019 • 093