Casa Emma

Apartment Renovation in Pedralbes, Barcelona

Located in a residential neighbourhood of Barcelona, this apartment renovation transforms a family home into a space organised around a continuous architectural spine. Rather than defining each room as an independent space, the project establishes a sequence of interconnected spaces where light, bespoke joinery and architecture work together to create a cohesive spatial experience.

The original layout was completely reconfigured to improve the relationship between the living and private areas while accommodating the needs of a family of five through four bedrooms, three bathrooms and generous integrated storage. Located between these two zones, the kitchen becomes the organisational hinge of the apartment, opening onto the living spaces while connecting seamlessly with the master suite.

From the kitchen, the architectural spine unfolds through the apartment, replacing the traditional corridor with an inhabited sequence defined by a long concrete bench and a concrete desk, both supported by slender steel structures, a suspended steel library, and carefully integrated lighting. A freestanding gallery wall framed by the same slender steel structure conceals the entrance to the master suite without interrupting the visual continuity of the apartment, allowing the living spaces to reveal themselves progressively from the moment of arrival.

A continuous walnut surface wraps the kitchen, forming the floor-to-ceiling cabinetry and extending overhead into a suspended ceiling that defines the heart of the apartment. Complementing this gesture, a continuous white Corian surface begins as the kitchen countertop, passes through the wall to become the headboard of the master bedroom and continues into the ensuite bathroom as the wall lining behind the suspended WC and the vanity. Together, these bespoke architectural elements organise circulation, storage and everyday life while reinforcing the perception of a single continuous intervention.

Natural light is an integral part of the design strategy. Instead of allowing the new partitions to meet the façade completely, they stop short of the perimeter walls, creating narrow glazed openings between adjoining rooms. These carefully positioned apertures allow daylight to penetrate deeper into the apartment, preserve visual continuity and reinforce the perception of a seamless spatial sequence while maintaining the appropriate degree of privacy.

A restrained palette of walnut, white Corian, oak flooring and white surfaces emphasises the clarity of the intervention, reinforcing the perception of architecture and bespoke joinery as a single, continuous intervention.

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