black monochrome envelope and vertical steel slats modernize family home in barcelona

MDAMMM revamps spanish family home 

Spanish architecture studio MDAMMM has renovated a single-family home in Barcelona, upgrading its nondescript form with a monochromatic envelop of black and bringing its key design elements to the forefront. The Black House’s original structure was shaped by vertical faces rendered in exposed brick of ochre tones, accented with different grey tones and finishes. Meanwhile, the ground plan unfolded across a V-shaped geometry wrapped around the garden, undefined by its enclosures.

Leaving the form and interior intact, the design team has revived the volume with a focus on aesthetics in a 180 degree design concept along four axis. The design concept sought to conserve and draw attention the following key features: monochromatism, accents on the openings, verticality, and capillarity.

four core axis drive the renovation process

Beginning the project, the team at MDAMMM decided to preserve as much of The Black House’s original qualities as possible, by adapting and modernizing only its original color and material palettes which were deemed outdated. All elements of the facade were initially colored in a bold stroke of black to enhance the volume’s relationship with its surrounding vegetation in stark contrast. The openings were then accented with large protruding sheet metal angular frames, which project over vertical lathing with hollow sections as a double skin on the building. ‘The project seems nearly reduced to a graphic sign, monochrome and essential,’ notes project photographer, Filippo Poli.

Further, the sections were laid out in differing cadences and lengths, emphasizing and multiplying the facades with additional vertical planes that add elements of dynamism. The design team also separated the sections from the facade to enrich the entire home, making it lighter and more mutable. In the daytime, shadows cast dynamic displays of movement, light, and shade in accordance with the position of the sun, meanwhile at night, the home is illuminated by the interior lighting.

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project info:

name: The Black House
architecture: MDAMMM + The Black House Studio
location: Barcelona, Spain

completed: 2022

photography: Filippo Poli | @filippo.poli

client: Particular

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