NOT A STUDIO uses color-coded structure to open up century-old barcelona apartment

a 36-square-meter apartment in sarrià sheds decades of partitions to reveal its original structure, using color to reinterpret a century-old interior.

thomai tsimpou June 23, 2026 4 min

NOT A STUDIO reshapes century-old apartment in barcelona

Located in Barcelona’s Sarrià neighborhood, Monterols is NOT A STUDIO’s renovation of a 36-square-meter apartment with a 15-square-meter mezzanine inside a residential building dating to 1919. Designed as an update to a family-owned property passed down through generations, the project removes decades of partitions to recover the original volume of the home and foreground its nearly five-meter ceiling height. By exposing the structure of the apartment and introducing a vivid palette of blue, green, and yellow, the intervention transforms a compact historic interior into an open loft organized around light, height, and flexibility.

Originally arranged as four rooms, a kitchen, dining room, and a bathroom located on the terrace, the apartment had undergone a previous renovation two decades ago that added a mezzanine. Despite this intervention, the home remained fragmented and lacked natural light. The redesign strips the space back to its essentials, creating a single continuous volume where the vertical dimension of the building becomes the defining spatial feature.

NOT A STUDIO uses color-coded structure to open up century-old barcelona apartment - 1 — all images courtesy of NOT A STUDIO

exposed beams and columns organize the apartment

Rather than concealing the building’s age, the Barcelona-based practice NOT A STUDIO highlights original structural components and incorporates them into the architectural language of the interior. Beams and columns appear in shades of blue, green, and yellow, turning functional elements into visual markers that help organize the open-plan layout.

The color palette extends throughout the apartment, from a blue arched lighting feature suspended above the kitchen to green structural supports and pale cabinetry. Exposed masonry, plywood joinery, stainless steel surfaces, and tiled walls introduce material contrast while preserving traces of the building’s history. The intervention avoids reconstructing a historic interior and instead creates a contemporary layer that coexists with the original fabric of the apartment.

In a district characterized by traditional residential architecture, the project offers a more playful domestic environment. Color is used as a way of emphasizing the apartment’s structural framework and defining different zones within the compact footprint.

The project demonstrates how small urban apartments can be reconfigured through subtraction. By removing layers of compartmentalization and revealing the building’s original structure, the renovation reinterprets a long-held family home for contemporary living while maintaining a visible connection to its past.

NOT A STUDIO uses color-coded structure to open up century-old barcelona apartment - 2 — exposed brickwork and color-coded structural elements frame the kitchen island

NOT A STUDIO uses color-coded structure to open up century-old barcelona apartment - 3 — the renovation removes partitions to recover the apartment’s original volume

NOT A STUDIO uses color-coded structure to open up century-old barcelona apartment - 4 — green-painted columns and beams organize the open-plan interior

NOT A STUDIO uses color-coded structure to open up century-old barcelona apartment - 5 — exposed masonry and custom storage bring texture to the kitchen wall

NOT A STUDIO uses color-coded structure to open up century-old barcelona apartment - 6 — mezzanine bedroom overlooks the open-plan living space below

NOT A STUDIO uses color-coded structure to open up century-old barcelona apartment - 7 — custom storage is integrated into the staircase leading to the mezzanine

NOT A STUDIO uses color-coded structure to open up century-old barcelona apartment - 8 — plywood stairs incorporate concealed storage beneath the mezzanine

NOT A STUDIO uses color-coded structure to open up century-old barcelona apartment - 9 — tiled detailing and plywood finishes connect the mezzanine sleeping area to the living space below

NOT A STUDIO uses color-coded structure to open up century-old barcelona apartment - 10 — colorful fixtures and tiled surfaces add visual rhythm to the kitchen

NOT A STUDIO uses color-coded structure to open up century-old barcelona apartment - 11 — structural elements painted in green and blue define zones throughout the apartment

NOT A STUDIO uses color-coded structure to open up century-old barcelona apartment - 12 — nearly five meters of height allow living, kitchen, and sleeping areas to coexist within a single volume

NOT A STUDIO uses color-coded structure to open up century-old barcelona apartment - 13 — a double-height living area takes advantage of the apartment’s original proportions

NOT A STUDIO uses color-coded structure to open up century-old barcelona apartment - 14 — a blue-painted beam crosses the mezzanine level beneath the vaulted ceiling

NOT A STUDIO uses color-coded structure to open up century-old barcelona apartment - 15 — built-in shelving displays books, plants, and colorful objects throughout the apartment

NOT A STUDIO uses color-coded structure to open up century-old barcelona apartment - 16 — the bathroom combines white grid tiles with green-painted surfaces and terrazzo flooring

project info:

name: Monterols

architect: NOT A STUDIO | @itsnotastudio

location: Sarrià, Barcelona, Spain

building date: 1919