Page 71 - AIT0721_E-Paper

Entwurf • Design Hiha Studio, ES-Barcelona
Bauherr • Client Privat
Standort • Location ES-Girona
Nutzfläche • Floor space 130 m 2
Fotos • Photos Pol Viladoms
Mehr Infos auf Seite • More info on page 134

APARTMENT

IN GIRONA

The living space the architects of Hiha Studio were to de-
sign for a private client was to be open and clearly
structured but also protected from break-ins and heat.
The object: the ground floor of a former store in urban Gi-
rona. Like an artistic gesture, three effectually staged bar-
rel vaults today span an in places compartmentalized,
bright living area floor plan despite extensive shading.

T three ceiling joists which are concealed by the installed barrel
he starting point for the conversion of the storage floor were
vaults. Running parallel to the street façade, the ceiling arches define
three different zones of usage within the layout of the apartment: Still
organized in a compact and closed way towards the street, the layout
step by step opens in the direction of the planted backyard. The area
spanned by the first ceiling arch thus functions as a filter between the
secluded private zone and the public street life. In addition to a sepa-
rate apartment access set back from the façade, this is where the
study and the guestroom are located which, with windows positioned
at a parapet height of 1.5 metres, already offer a high degree of sight
protection. The structural and communicative hub of the apartment
is the kitchen with a freestanding counter below the middle vault. As
a central element, it provides access to the sequence of living rooms
in a space-saving way and, at the same time, leaves interesting visual
axes free. A clear principle in the rooms with their clean design is en-
sured by hollow-brick panels installed in the upper part of the walls.
With its rough material structure, the panelling flush-mounted onto
the plastered walls adds structure as well as colour to the apartment
and purposefully emphasizes the vaults of the new ceiling design. To
heighten this effect, all the walls and the permanent installations
have been designed in white with as few details as possible and are
always dimensioned in such a way that there is an unobstructed view
of the brick frieze as a characterizing spatial element. This intention
is exaggerated by the translucent pieces of furniture specifically desi-
gned for the project by the artist Kushin Mattson with the flat con-
structions remaining almost shadow-free and attracting little atten-
tion in the sequence of rooms despite their unconventional design.
Finally, a polished screed floor leading all the way to the terrace ex-
tends the indoor area without thresholds into the garden in a user-
friendly way and perforated folding shutters ensure dependable, na-
Grundriss • Floor plan tural lighting of the whole living space.

AIT 7/8.2021 • 071