A Tired Townhome Becomes Three Charismatic Flats in Barcelona’s Gràcia Neighborhood

The small, quiet streets of the Gracia neighborhood in Barcelona give it a village feel, but it also has a vibrant cultural scene. "It’s very cute, indeed—it’s the perfect place to live," says architect Dori Sadan. And he has a pretty good sense. Recently, he and his firm, Mira Architecture, went about reimagining a townhome there that sat above a storefront.

Over the years the building had fallen into disrepair, and required extensive structural reinforcement. The firm gave the facade a meticulous restoration following local code, finishing it with traditional stucco detailing and contrasting dark-brown window frames. In the process, they turned the storefront into its own unit, and divided the townhome above into two.

In back, where the team was free to make bigger changes, they opened up huge windows and added tiered, offset terraces. Each terrace provides protected outdoor space, and also brings light, views, and fresh air into the apartments.

The escardejat walls on the entire rear facade were finished and textured by hand using a painstaking technique that conjures traditional Catalan architecture. Minimalist light wood window framing complements the rustic finish.

Inside, Mira scraped off the plaster that had been liberally applied to the walls, roof, and floor during the 1970s. But what they discovered underneath—beautiful Catalan ceilings, traditional ceramic tiles, and rose-colored brick walls—was well worth preserving. "We love to expose the bones of a building," says Sadan.

The old floors had warped into waves, a common problem in older Barcelona homes, so the team carefully excavated and saved the ceramic tiles, and then poured a concrete floor to reinforce the structure. Rather than completely covering the concrete with the original tile, they married the old materials with new, placing strips of decorated tile side by side with the polished concrete.

Each of the three floors features a kitchen with storage and simple furniture (Saban found a kitchen table at a local flea market). "The architecture is so bold," says Saban, "so everything else needed to be light and thin, allowing as much open space as possible." Chairs and sofas with slender legs lightly rest on the concrete floor.

Throughout, sections of exposed brick wall contrast with clean, white-washed plaster. In many areas, the team left the walls raw and unfinished. Small white pendant lights reference modernist design while reinforcing the industrial style of the exposed concrete.

Despite the apartments’ raw edges and industrial feel, they exude sophistication through careful design choices. Glass doors and windows are elegantly framed with wood, and soothing, natural greens play against the rosy brick and tile.

On each floor, the team positioned the primary bedroom suite at the front of the apartment, and the public living areas toward the open, light-filled rear near the new windows. Because of the building’s small footprint, natural light from windows at front and back penetrate to the kitchen at the core of each level.

According to Sadan, the key to this project’s success was scraping away the false ceiling. In doing so, they not only revealed the beautiful, tone-setting Catalan vaults, but also raised the ceiling height significantly. "With such a narrow building," he says, "you need as much height and light as possible."

Related Reading:

18 Awe-Inspiring Homes With Barrel-Vaulted Ceilings

Original Tile Sets the Stage for a Family’s Apartment Revamp in Barcelona

Project Credits:

Architect of Record: Mira Architecture / @mira_architecture

Photography:  Del Rio Bani / @delriobani