Toy Library and Offices in Barcelona, Spain by Taller 9s Arquitectes

Article source: Taller 9s Arquitectes

Recycling city.
An obsolete ‘corner’ of Barcelona’s Gothic Quarter is recycled, to transform an existing disused building into a public building that profit from the potential of the site to generate urbanity.

Liberating the Gothic bell tower.
With the demolition of part of the existing building it is retrieved the Gothic bell tower of the church of Santa Maria del Pi, freeing it from the current tensions and creating a patio at its feet, future access to the interior of the urban block.

Image Courtesy © Adrià Goula Sardà 

• Architects: Taller 9s Arquitectes
• Project: Toy Library and Offices in existing building
• Location: Barcelona (Catalonia, Spain)
• Photography: Adrià Goula Sardà
• Completion date: 2010
• Designers: Taller 9s Arquitectes (Oriol Cusidó & Irene Marzo, architects)
• Size: 1.055 m2

Image Courtesy © Adrià Goula Sardà 

Old bay- New body.
It’s been rehabilitated the first bay of the existing building to maintain the historic character of the old square. And it’s been built a new body behind the old structure, a new building with zinc skin and metal structure which dialogues with the old part and frees the tower.

Image Courtesy © Adrià Goula Sardà

The tower as a backdrop.

The new part of the building gesticulates and dematerializes to face the tower and the masonry of the tower becomes the fourth facade in all floors.

Image Courtesy © Adrià Goula Sardà

A mirror facades.

The facade of the new body which is situated opposite the tower becomes a contemporary reinterpretation of the old Gothic. Stony walls, massive, are transmuted into a semi transparent skin of vertical slats, the lines of imposts are now metal profiles…

Image Courtesy © Adrià Goula Sardà

Air and light as hinges.

Between the new and the old, a gap of light and air links all floors and visually extends the outside to inside. The old part on the ground floor overlooks the square favouring close proximity between urban citizens and new uses.

Image Courtesy © Adrià Goula Sardà

Container of social uses.

The logistics spaces and the scale are placed adjacent to a narrow private street. The remaining space is freed allowing multiple uses. In the same way that in the old part all the offices open to the square, in the new part the spaces face the tower.

Image Courtesy © Adrià Goula Sardà

Innovative construction process.

The structural framework was built before the deconstruction of the building in order to hold the buildings nearby. Afterwards it is been worked simultaneously on the finishing of the upper floors and in the archaeological works on the ground floor with the aim of lowering a subterranean floor. This strategy allowed to shortening the period of works 4 months.

Image Courtesy © Adrià Goula Sardà

A Place, a construction.

Metal structure, ventilated facade, dry partitions, panels of resins, rubber flooring, stucco traditional cal … The building systems are designed to meet both the difficulties and the demands of the site waste minimization, energy efficiency, durability and the easy maintenance.

Image Courtesy © Adrià Goula Sardà

Image Courtesy © Adrià Goula Sardà 

Image Courtesy © Adrià Goula Sardà 

Image Courtesy © Adrià Goula Sardà 

Image Courtesy © Adrià Goula Sardà 

Image Courtesy © Adrià Goula Sardà 

Image Courtesy © Adrià Goula Sardà

Tags: Barcelona, Spain

Categories: Library, Offices

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