Collective housing in Torre Baró, Spain by Josep Miàs

Article source: Josep Miàs

Topographically, the plot, with a pentagonal shape, is in the middle of a slope. In order to take advantage of this situation, the owners suggested a programme of an underground parking, commercial facilities on the ground floor and housing on the upper levels. The project is surrounded by other housing buildings, so it is, in fact, in the middle.

Image Courtesy © Adrià Goula

• Architects: Josep Miàs
• Project: Collective housing in Torre Baró
• Location: Barcelona, Spain
• Collaborators: Adriana Porta + Silvia Brandi (project leaders), Carles Bou (technical advisor), Fausto Raposo, Bárbara Fachada, Mafalda Batista, Lluís A. Casanovas, Cristina Feijoo, Francesca Giovaninni, Anna Mallén, Anna Mañosa, Daniel Montes, Josep Puigdemont, Benedetta Slucca, Pablo Varesi, Enric Argemí, Mario Blanco, Horacio Arias, Stefania Carboni, Margherita Corbetta, Mannick Eigenheer, Isabelle Glenz, Diogo Henriques, Silvia Lai, Pier Francesco Lisci, Roberta Luna, Francisca Marzotto, Ines Reis, Diego Romero, Emanuela Scano, María Tapias, Christian Giovanetti, Giovanni Galdieri, Gabriele Mura, Laura Pomesano
• Consultors: Engineering (PROISOTEC, Josep Masachs), structure (BOMA)
• Type: collective housing (winner project in a competition)
• Completion: 2012
• Client: Public – Barcelona Council, Regesa, Bagursa 
• Size: 5000 m²
• Budget: <4M €

Image Courtesy © Adrià Goula

The building is thought of as a volumetric reference for the whole housing complex (which was designed by a competition process) and for the public space proposed by the urban plan.

Architecturally, the U-shaped project has different levels and it is circumscribed in a trapezoidal basis. It faces the eucalyptus square, so the diaphanous ground floor is an extension of the public space. However, the limit with Sant Feliu de Codines Street is defined by a 31-metre-tall façade, which clearly separates public and private space.

Image Courtesy © Adrià Goula

Generally, there are 4 apartments per level, although in the last two levels, there are only two. The volume percentage is achieved thanks to the progressive decrease of the levels’ surface (as it goes up).

The project has the aim to be perceived as an entity, not showing the different levels which form it. For this reason, façades are not designed as a simple piling up, but as a single element. From the square, the volume doesn’t show clearly what happens inside it, it just hints the inner patio. The façade produces slight movements of its dress to blur its shapes, to hint, to offer trompe-l’oeil…

Regarding sunlight and ventilation, by locating all the apartments around a patio, with the same façade perimeter, the building gets really efficient.

Image Courtesy © Adrià Goula

Image Courtesy © Adrià Goula

Image Courtesy © Adrià Goula

Image Courtesy © Adrià Goula

Image Courtesy © Adrià Goula

Image Courtesy © Adrià Goula

Image Courtesy © Josep Miàs

Image Courtesy © Josep Miàs

Image Courtesy © Josep Miàs

Image Courtesy © Josep Miàs

Image Courtesy © Josep Miàs

Image Courtesy © Josep Miàs

Image Courtesy © Josep Miàs

Image Courtesy © Josep Miàs

Image Courtesy © Josep Miàs

Image Courtesy © Josep Miàs

Tags: Spain, Torre Baró

Categories: Apartments, Residential

This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 24th, 2014 at 8:50 am. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.