CRÜ studio restores ‘la carla’, a modernist apartment in the heart of barcelona

CRÜ studio restores ‘la carla,’ a 1940s family dwelling, located in a modernist building, in the heart of barcelona. with the new intervention, the architects have planned a generous and autonomous apartment which intended for a family. throughout the restoration, the architects have respected the existing architectural language by preserving the original materials.

master bedroom

all images courtesy of CRÜ studio

CRÜ studio sought to reinstitute the pre-existing apartment, recovering the original architectural elements and the ornamental details. in order to maintain and treat everything found in the area, such as false ceilings, mouldings, flooring mosaics, solid wood parquet, cut glass woodwork and iron elements, the interior was in need of a transformation to turn it into a welcoming, comfortable, and functional place.
galeria at the rear façade

the project focuses on three main changes, including the kitchen, the children’s & the parent’s area. the pre-existing oversized kitchen is reprogrammed into a normal-scaled room that is connected with the hall. the link of two former office rooms frames the children’s area, while the segregation of the two zones oriented to the back gallery features the parents’ space.

living area with the galeria at the back

the kitchen’s intervention focuses on the new room’s geometry. this way, it shows its contrast within the apartment, floating freely in the space and slightly sliding towards the former hall’s transverse wing as a gesture of the ‘timid colonization’. the vertical furniture is moved to the wall in order to complete the transformation of the hall into both a kitchen and a ‘space between spaces’.

kitchen

in terms of the children’s area, a T-shaped element is raised to separate the two-bedroom units from the shared playground space. the area in-between is flexible and permeable using sliding wooden panels that allow the two bedrooms to form a close bond. deep mediterranean blue color clothes the parents’ zone which contains cornices, mouldings, ornaments, walls and baseboards.master bedroom

kids’ playground area

kids’ playground area

kids’ bedrooms and playground area

kids’ bedrooms and playground area

master bedroom

master bathroom

galeria at the rear façade

kitchen island detail

project info:

name: la carla

architect: CRÜ [clàudia raurell + joan astallé]

project team: alejandra alonso and anna enrich

location: barcelona, spain

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.