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      Portal House by Svima features brass details and curved oak ribbons

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      Brass ribbons line the asymmetric portals that connect the kitchen and dining room of this Toronto residence, renovated by local architecture and art studio Svima.

      The Portal House was designed for a couple who had wanted to refresh their home for 10 years, but have very different aesthetic tastes.
      Two portals connect the renovated kitchen and dining areas of this Toronto homeToronto-based studio Svima found a compromise by combining his desire for “tenebrous minimalism” and her love of “bright French country kitchens” into the design.
      The resulting “denlike cosiness” pairs dark oak across the lower half of the ground-floor spaces and clean white surfaces on the upper half.
      The curved, asymmetric portal over the deep counter acts as a pass-throughThe snaked kitchen layout is tight, so Svima curved the corners of cabinetry and counter surfaces to steal extra space for circulation.

      This theme continues to the living room millwork: a bookcase is filleted at the corner and meets the wall at an angle, while a built-in sofa beneath the window also softly angles inward.
      The other portal, mirrored in shape, forms a doorway between the two spaces”The design hinges on ‘ribbons’ flowing through the space, guiding the motion through the rooms,” said Svima.
      “The ribbons curve in areas where sharp corners would not fit, or would stop the flow of movement.”
      Brass edges around the portals were artfully installed to perfectly fit the curved drywallIn the kitchen, the curved oak doors were handmade by a cabinetmaker who created a special jig to kerf-bend the oak into a radius.
      Tiles that offer a contemporary take on Dutch Delft porcelain form the backsplash, adding small touches of blue to the otherwise neutral space.
      To add touches of colour to the dark oak and bright white palette, tiles influenced by Delft porcelain were added to the backsplashTwo portals provide connections between the kitchen and adjacent dining room, both with a mirrored asymmetric shape and edged in brass.
      One acts as a doorway, while the other over the deep counter is used as a pass-through for food, drinks and tableware.

      Studio Vaaro reconfigures House M using built-in storage volumes

      “It was an artful process for the contractor to lay the brass into the wall, as it had to fit into the curved drywall perfectly with no tolerance for error,” the architects said.
      The living room, located at the front of the house, was furnished with mid-century pieces such as a chair, a coffee table and a media console.
      Dark oak flooring throughout the home’s ground floor matches the other millworkThe closed and open shelving unit organises the family’s books and possessions, and its shape allows more light to enter from a side window.
      Opposite, the built-in sofa helps to resolve an awkward space under a bay window and orients the sitter towards the TV to one side.
      In the living room, the curved kitchen cabinetry is translated as a storage unit with a filleted side”The custom sofa sweeps into the space to provide seating at precisely the right sideways angle for viewing the media unit, for lounge reading, and for gathering,” Svima said.
      The floors throughout the home match the other millwork, grounding the spaces with a rich dark hue.
      A built-in sofa under the living room’s bay window similarly features softly curved anglesSvima, founded by architects Anamarija Korolj and Leon Lai, is not the only studio that’s had to get creative with a tight Toronto floor plan.
      When Studio Vaaro overhauled a house in the city, the firm created a series of volumes with minimally detailed millwork to form kitchen cabinetry, the staircase and a feature bookcase in the living room.
      The photography is by Scott Norsworthy.

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      Dezeen Debate features rural Belgian home that achieves “such a clean result”

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      The latest edition of our Dezeen Debate newsletter features House in the Fields, a rural home in the Belgian countryside. Subscribe to Dezeen Debate now.

      Geneva-based architect Stef Claes looked to mid-century and local architecture to create the low-lying home in Belgium. The residence, named House in the Fields, features white-painted walls and black accents.
      Readers discussed the project, with one commending the architects for achieving “such a clean result” and another agreeing, claiming that they “could quite happily live there”.
      “Forty-one per cent of architects now using AI” says RIBA reportOther stories in this week’s newsletter that fired up the comments section included the findings of a report by the Royal Insitute of British Architects which found that close to half of UK architects are now using AI for their projects, the announcement that Foster + Partners is designing a two-kilometre-high skyscraper in Saudi Arabia and an opinion piece by Catherine Slessor about architects working into their older years.
      Dezeen Debate

      Dezeen Debate is sent every Thursday and features a selection of the best reader comments and most talked-about stories. Read the latest edition of Dezeen Debate or subscribe here.
      You can also subscribe to our other newsletters; Dezeen Agenda is sent every Tuesday containing a selection of the most important news highlights from the week, Dezeen Daily is our daily bulletin that contains every story published in the preceding 24 hours and Dezeen In Depth is sent on the last Friday of every month and delves deeper into the major stories shaping architecture and design.

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      Kingston Lafferty Design includes “sensual” red quartzite kitchen in townhouse renovation

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      Dublin studio Kingston Lafferty Design has transformed the architecture and interiors of this family home in Cork, Ireland, which features 1970s-style shapes and colours informed by the work of designer Verner Panton.

      Positioned on Lovers Walk hill overlooking the city of Cork, the townhouse – called Lovers Walk – was renovated by Kingston Lafferty Design.
      Kingston Lafferty Design completed the renovation in CorkThe studio originally planned to just update the interiors, but decided that a more extensive architectural transformation was needed after discovering structural instabilities in the home.
      Kingston Lafferty Design removed all of the floors, which lacked foundations and insulation in their concrete slab, and completely reconfigured the two-storey property’s layout.
      Rooms on the ground floor were designed around an oak-lined hallway”As the building was originally built in the 1970s, we wanted to return to its roots,” studio founder Róisín Lafferty told Dezeen.

      “We thrived on inspiration from Verner Panton with his use of strong clashing colour, playful shapes and oversized elements,” she added.
      One of these spaces is a “sensual” red kitchenThe ground floor was adapted to include an open-plan kitchen defined by a counter, island and splashback finished in veiny red quartzite.
      Ruby-toned timber was used to create the geometric cabinets. When layered with the quartzite, “it sounds like a disaster, but it’s a delight,” said the designer.
      The living room follows a similar design to the kitchenThe space, described by the studio as a “sensual red-toned jewel kitchen”, is one of several rooms on the ground floor of Lovers Walk that were designed around the central, oak-lined hallway.
      “We used the hallway as the core of the house, which grounded the space with pops of colour stemming from it. Each room leading from the core appears like a framed view or window of colour,” explained Lafferty.
      It includes a green feature wall that takes cues from Mies van der Rohe’s iconic Barcelona PavilionThe living room includes blue velvet sofas and a green feature wall clad in swirly book-matched marble, which was fitted with an alcove reserved for a subtle fireplace.
      When creating the polished stone wall, the studio took cues from the seminal Barcelona Pavilion, completed in 1929 by modernist architect Mies van der Rohe.
      A floor-to-ceiling headboard takes centre stage in the main bedroom”We used green as an overall thread throughout the house, inspired by the surrounding landscape,” added Lafferty.
      “Although depending on the time of year, the colours tend to change and so we were able to add in other rich colours that anchor the green such as burgundies and bright oranges,” she added.
      Stonework also defines the en-suite bathroom”One would assume this mix of colours would clash, but we choose the tones and textures of each to ensure that all of them would blend harmoniously,” Lafferty said.
      Upstairs, the main bedroom and en-suite bathroom were dressed in the same eclectic interiors as the communal spaces. A floor-to-ceiling headboard, finished in diamond-shaped green tiles originally designed by 20th-century architect Gio Ponti, frames the bed.
      A playful bed was added to the bedroom created for the occupants’ childBalloon-like coloured glass vases were positioned on two bedside tables, which were topped with the same slabs of Rosso Levanto marble as the geometric vanity desk.
      The bedroom designed for the occupants’ child features an alternative bed – a playful green structure with two stacked levels and half-moon openings that reveal a cosy sleeping area on the bottom level.

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      Other accents featured throughout the home include burl wood, terrazzo, plaster and brass. The repetition of 1970s-style thick pile carpets emphasises the dwelling’s textured material palette.
      Lovers Walk is the studio’s “closest nod” to the work of Panton, explained Lafferty – “down to the selection of every tile, light fitting and exquisite piece of designer furniture”.
      Deep blues characterise the guest bedroom”Although there is such an array of materiality, it is balanced by repeated colour, shape and form,” she said.
      “Every space in this house is an assault on the senses, in the best way possible.”
      Lovers Walk was informed by the work of Verner PantonFounded in 2010, Kingston Lafferty Design has completed projects ranging from a Dublin restaurant with oversized lollipop-like lamps and a co-working office in Belfast that includes a yoga studio.
      The photography is by Ruth Maria Murphy. 
      Project credits:
      Interior architecture and design: Kingston Lafferty DesignWoodwork: DFLStonework: Miller Brothers

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      Lucas y Hernández Gil adds multi-use greenhouse to Madrid bungalow

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      A renovated 1970s bungalow with “kitsch character” and a greenhouse that doubles as a living room feature in Casamontesa – a weekend home designed by Spanish studio Lucas y Hernández Gil.

      The project began when a couple asked the studio to overhaul a single-storey house that was once part of a hotel complex on the outskirts of Madrid.
      The renovated bungalow and a multifunctional greenhouse (above) make up CasamontesaThe brief later expanded to include a multifunctional greenhouse that can be used as a workspace, a guest bedroom, a gym or simply as a garden room.
      Lucas y Hernández Gil, led by architects Cristina Domínguez Lucas and Fernando Hernández-Gil Ruano, developed a distinct character for each building.
      The main house is a bungalow built in the 1970sCasamontesa’s renovated bungalow has a warm, playful style that draws on the 1970s aesthetic while the garden pavilion has a more utilitarian feel.

      “The owners, a young urban couple who love design and live and work in the centre of Madrid, were looking for a functional and compact getaway within a fantastic garden,” Lucas told Dezeen.
      “They wanted a very comfortable and flexible home that would be useful for both working and getting together with friends.”
      The interior centres around a new kitchen islandThe bungalow renovation involved simplifying the interior layout to create a combined kitchen, dining room and living room, with a bedroom and bathroom off to one side.
      “The house, in addition to being small, was very compartmentalised,” explained Lucas.
      The materials palette includes pink marble and handmade tilesTo unify the newly open-plan living space, the designers installed an island that serves as a worktop, dining table and social gathering place.
      This island features a countertop made from Portuguese pink marble while its sides are covered in the same handmade burgundy tiles that line an adjacent window recess.
      An arched fireplace provides a focal point in the living room”The rest of the surfaces – Campaspero stone floors and waxed tinted plaster walls – establish a dialogue by contrast with the colourful and shiny surface of the tiles,” added Lucas.
      Key details in the living room include an arched fireplace and a tadelakt plaster coffee table, while the bedroom features semi-circular marble nightstands.

      McCloy + Muchemwa adds timber-framed “orangery” to renovated garage

      For Casamontesa’s garden room, the design team customised a prefabricated greenhouse.
      A pergola extends the building volume outwards in a bid to blur the boundary between inside and out, and is topped with wooden blinds to provide shade.
      A pergola extends the width of the greenhouseA wooden box on wheels provides an additional bedroom, described as a “small Shigeru Ban-style mobile room”.
      Other additions include thermal curtains and an automatic shading and ventilation system, which allow for versatile use of the space throughout the year.
      A “Shigeru Ban-style mobile room” provides an additional sleeping space”By complementing the programme of the original bungalow, a more complete and flexible program is achieved, overcoming the limitations of a weekend house,” added Lucas.
      Other recent projects by Lucas y Hernández Gil include a bar featuring extreme colour blocking and an apartment with a hidden closet.
      The photography is by José Hevia.

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      Byró Architekti “blurs old and new” at renovated House in Kutná Hora

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      Prague studio Byró Architekti has renovated a 19th-century house in the Czech town of Kutná Hora, adding unexpected openings and colourful joinery that create a playful contrast with the original interior.

      The studio was tasked with restoring the character of the existing house, which had been compromised by a previous programme of renovations in the 1970s.
      Pastel green defines the entrance of House in Kutná Hora by Byró ArchitektiThe project improves the connection between the home’s internal spaces by introducing new windows and openings while aiming to seamlessly layer new elements on top of the original built fabric.
      “Our main goal was to rediscover the house’s memory and original layers, which were actually quite rare, and seamlessly blend them with new layers to create a cohesive whole,” Byró Architekti explained.
      Chequerboard tiles in the foyer match the painted joinery”We aimed to blur the boundary between the old and the new rather than highlighting it,” the studio added.

      The house’s main feature is a spiral staircase that forms a vertical circulation core at the centre of the plan. Internal windows and glass-block walls were added on each level to provide a visual connection to the living spaces.
      Plywood cabinetry and wall panelling feature in the ground-floor music roomAn original stone staircase links the ground floor and first floor, while a new stair leading to the attic has floating steel treads that allow light from a skylight to reach the lower level.
      A spacious entrance hall on the ground floor connects with a music room and a bathroom on one side of the staircase, while utility areas and an artist’s studio face onto a courtyard at the rear.
      Also on the ground floor is a small artist’s studio with colourful joineryThe main living space containing the kitchen is housed on the first floor along with the principal bedroom and a home office. The attic contains two bedrooms for the children as well as a bathroom.
      Light and colour are used throughout the project to create spaces with different atmospheres. While the building’s exterior is decorated modestly to fit into the streetscape, a more expressive colour palette is applied internally.

      Plus One Architects uncovers original paintwork of 100-year-old Czech apartment

      “Overall, muted shades are chosen combined with more pronounced colour surfaces or accents in several specific situations,” Byró Architekti said.
      The entrance hall features chequerboard floor tiles in a pastel-green hue that matches the painted joinery of the surrounding doors and windows. The balustrade and the treads of the new staircase are also finished in the same colour.
      Stairs lead up to the living spacesByró Architekti designed various pieces of custom furniture for the project, including a plywood shelving unit with a bright-red metal structure that extends along one wall of the ground-floor studio space.
      The playroom also features plywood cabinetry and wall panelling, inset with an internal clerestory window that lets light into the adjoining bathroom.
      Kitchen cabinets are painted in a powdery blue colourThe main living area features a vaulted ceiling lined with plywood. A concrete bench is positioned along one wall to support a tile-clad fireplace while a window behind looks onto the stairwell.
      The kitchen has cabinets and internal doors painted in a pale blue colour. A porthole window in this space also offers a glimpse of the spiral stair.
      The vaulted ceiling of the living room is lined with plywoodThe courtyard and garden at the rear of the building were also renovated as part of the project. This outdoor space can be accessed from the lower floor or via a new terrace outside the main living area.
      Byró Architekti was founded by Tomáš Hanus and Jan Holub, who studied at the Czech Technical University in Prague and worked in various practices before setting up their studio.
      The garden can be accessed via a new terrace outside the main living areaPreviously, the duo completed a cabin with a sweeping roof and red timber cladding in the Šumava mountains.
      Other renovations in the Czech Republic that have recently been featured on Dezeen include a 500-year-old home filled with contemporary furniture and a 1920s villa in Prague that was revamped by No Architects.
      The photography is by Alex Shoots Buildings.

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      ORA creates modern home in 500-year-old Czech Renaissance building

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      Czech architecture studio ORA has renovated a Renaissance-era house in the town of Český Krumlov, preserving original features like its carved wooden beams while adding free-standing contemporary furniture.

      Local entrepreneurs Petra Hanáková and Radek Techlovský purchased the dilapidated house in the town centre in 2016 and asked ORA to oversee a modernisation process that retains the interior’s historical character.
      Masná 130 is a renovated home by ORA in Český KrumlovThe 500-year-old building, now called Masná 130, had been neglected for decades and was not even connected to the town’s sewage system. It also had flood-damaged foundations and a roof in need of major repairs.
      Despite its issues, the owners saw potential in the property and spent two years transforming its ground floor into a cafe that has become a gathering place for the local community.
      The architects added bespoke furniture made from dark-stained birch plywoodThe latest phase of the project involved renovating the first-floor living spaces. The original intention was to redevelop them as rental flats, but Hanáková and Techlovský eventually decided to create a single apartment that they could occupy themselves.

      ORA’s design for the apartment reveals aspects of the building’s past while introducing modern features that reflect the owners’ love for contemporary design and minimalist style.
      The building’s original carved wooden ceiling beams are left exposed”We did not want to create a historical ‘museum’ interior, nor a design showroom,” said Hanáková and Techlovský. “We wanted to organically connect the historical and contemporary layers.”
      The architects began by removing an existing partition wall in the main living space and reinstating the original open layout. This created a large salon that reveals the full splendour of the Renaissance-era wooden ceiling.
      The kitchen was designed as a standalone unit that is raised above the floorThe restoration process also uncovered original stone walls that were painted a deep crimson colour. Together with the wooden rafters, this informed a material palette that complements these dark, saturated tones and creates a cosy atmosphere.
      The apartment’s bedroom features a small remnant of the original ceiling fresco. The rest of the room is painted a cream colour to lend the space a calm and relaxing feel.

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      In the bathroom, ORA chose to combine cool colours with white tiles and large mirrors to brighten the space. Playful details such as the irregularly shaped bathtub, curved sinks and tiles with rounded edges help to soften the overall aesthetic.
      Throughout the apartment, the architects added bespoke freestanding furniture that performs the necessary functions without disturbing or concealing the existing heritage features.
      The bed is dominated by an oversized headboard”The interior design is approached as a collage of motifs,” said ORA. “The furniture is inserted into the historical space in the form of separate objects that create distance from the historical elements.”
      The kitchen, for example, was designed as a standalone unit that is raised above the floor and stops well short of the ceiling. Its sink, hob and countertop occupy a central void, with all other functions concealed within the cabinetry.
      It takes pride of place in the centre of the bedroomThe bed features an oversized headboard that connects with a wardrobe on its reverse side. It is placed in the centre of the bedroom and is angled to provide the best view of the window and the original painted ceiling.
      Custom-made furniture is built from dark-stained birch plywood with contrasting brass legs that help to enhance the sense of separation from the existing spaces.
      Lighting is either freestanding or integrated into furniture such as the kitchen unit and bed. An overhead light above the dining table is mounted on a bracket so it does not touch the historical ceiling.
      ORA combined cool colours with white tiles in the bathroomORA, which stands for Original Regional Architecture, was founded in 2014 by Jan Veisser, Jan Hora and Barbora Hora. The studio is based in the small town of Znojmo, with previous projects including the conversion of a 16th-century home in Mikulov to create a modern guesthouse.
      Other recent attempts at revamping the historical residences of the Czech Republic include a 1920s villa in Prague that was renovated by No Architects and a 100-year-old apartment in Karlovy Vary, where Plus One Architects uncovered the building’s original paintwork.
      The photography is by BoysPlayNice.

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      Barde vanVoltt gives historic Haarlem house a contemporary update

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      Interiors studio Barde vanVoltt has renovated this early 1900s house in the Dutch city of Haarlem to forge a strong connection between the building’s past and present, grounding the space with warm woods and tactile textures.

      The owners – a young family of four – wanted a home that would stand the test of time while telling Dutch practice Barde vanVoltt to “surprise us”.
      Barde vanVoltt had overhauled an early 20th-century house in HaarlemIn answer, the studio worked to create an interior that fuses the past and the present.
      “Stepping into this house is a journey through time, a reminder that architecture is a dialogue between generations,” the studio told Dezeen.
      “Meticulously preserving its historical charm, the house’s design seamlessly integrates contemporary features, creating a harmonious blend that transcends eras.”

      The studio added an extension to the rear of the homeTo address the narrow footprint of the house – a typically Dutch feature – internal walls were either removed, widened or replaced with glass panel doors.
      The back of the property was transformed with an extension and concertina glass doors to maximize the sense of light and space.
      The extension houses the kitchen and dining area”With the extension on the ground floor, we wanted to create contrast with the original architecture,” said Barde vanVoltt. “The understated square modern architecture, due to its shape and angular position, blends perfectly with the past.”
      “With the historic facade at the front, we took advantage of the space at the rear, extending the kitchen and living areas into the garden.”
      A vintage sandstone table centres the living roomThe practice carefully aligned the new design elements with shapes drawn from the architectural features of the house, with the new full-height door openings echoing the proportions of the living room’s original windows.
      In the attic, a guest room doubles as a playroom. Barde vanVoltt infused this once-dark space with natural light via a skylight, “allowing guests to sleep under the stars”.
      Barde vanVoltt retained Haarlem House’s original stained glass windows”Dutch houses are noted for their sloping attic roof lines,” the studio said. “For the children’s bedrooms, we followed this structural line and created custom bunk beds that combine sleep, storage, and space for play.”
      The material palette includes a range of mid- and dark-toned timbers that bring a sense of warmth and tactility to the home.

      WillemsenU submerges house under the ground in the Netherlands

      These are complemented by natural materials including stone and linen.
      “Our colour scheme always consists of earthy colours like moss green, a faded terracotta, grey concrete and off-whites,” the studio said. “For this residence, we brought them in line with the original colours from the existing tiles and stained glass.”
      Custom bunk beds feature in the children’s bedroomsThe furniture edit features Barde vanVoltt’s favoured mix of statement pieces alongside handmade and bespoke elements.
      Selected pieces reflect the architectural style of the building such as the Lot table by Tecta in the study, as well as Gerrit Thomas Rietveld’s 1934 Zig Zag chair and his Steltman chair from 1963, which was the last chair ever created by the Dutch designer.
      The playroom, dining area and bedroom all have specially-made seating upholstered in Kvadrat fabrics, while the bedrooms and study feature bespoke beds and closets.
      Wooden blinds mirror the linear pattern of the bathroom tiles”We love creating interiors full of handmade, bespoke furniture pieces with refined details,” said Barde vanVoltt. “The headboard of the master bedroom is an art piece in itself. The walnut slats are slightly curved and give it a very sophisticated look.”
      The square coffee table in the living room – made from a single piece of sandstone – is a vintage piece from Atelier Uma.
      Barde vanVoltt created a custom headboard in the primary bedroomFor the lighting scheme, Barde vanVoltt set out to create the right balance between functional and decorative lighting, collaborating with lighting experts PSLab to create a “warm and cosy atmosphere.”
      Other Dutch homes that have recently been featured on Dezeen include a house with a hexagonal footprint in Amsterdam and a Hobbit-style residence that is partially buried underground.
      The photography is by Thomas de Bruyne.

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      Tactile materials “accentuate the value of shadows” in Bolívar House

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      Spanish architect Juan Gurrea Rumeu used a palette of warm, textural materials and carefully positioned voids to create atmospheric living spaces inside this house he designed for himself and his wife in Barcelona.

      Rumeu and his wife, the Madrid-born artist Beatriz Dubois, decided to move to the architect’s home city for work after living for several years in Paris.
      Bolívar House takes up a narrow site on Barcelona’s Carrer de BolívarThey purchased a site occupied by a derelict storage building in the Vallcarca district that was affordable due to its northern aspect, narrow proportions and busy urban context.
      Bolívar House is located on the Carrer de Bolívar and is surrounded by buildings from various eras, ranging from early 20th-century art nouveau houses to industrial workshops and 1970s apartment blocks.
      Three square openings animate its street-facing facadeIn this chaotic and energetic environment, Gurrea Rumeu’s practice Gr-os – working with local architects Mercè Badal and Teresa Rumeu – sought to create a restful retreat defined by its considered use of space and light.

      “Despite its complicated urban setting, surrounded by taller buildings and heavy traffic, the interior atmosphere is surprisingly peaceful,” Gurrea Rumeu told Dezeen.
      “The position and scale of openings frames views and curates intimacy and light.”
      Dark wood was used throughout to create a sense of calmThe building itself comprises a monolithic grey box punctured by three square openings, which animate its street-facing elevation while defining views from within.
      A concrete plinth becomes a column that supports a visible steel lintel, which also acts as a recessed channel to hold utility cables as they pass across the simple frontage.
      One of the building’s structural steel columns is left exposed on each levelThe exposed beam provides a subtle ornamental detail that references the facade composition and, in particular, the decorative frieze found on a traditional residence across the street.
      The house’s exterior is rendered using a textured stucco that evokes rustic Catalan properties called masias. According to the architect, this finish adds a textural element to the otherwise minimal elevation that recalls an artist’s brushstrokes.
      The dwelling shares its long and narrow site with a multi-storey apartment building, in which Gurrea Rumeu and Dubois were able to add a studio on the basement level.

      CRÜ transforms public laundry into La Clara house in Barcelona

      The studio is visible across a central courtyard separating it from the home’s kitchen and dining area, which also looks onto the lush tropical planting through a full-height opening.
      At the front of the property, a double-height concrete volume containing the garage and a stairwell provides an acoustic barrier between the living areas and the street.
      Three bedrooms and the main living room are accommodated on the first and second floors, with the bedrooms at the rear overlooking the tranquil courtyard.
      The kitchen opens onto a small courtyardDespite being a north-facing house, the design is not focused on capturing as much natural light as possible, Gurrea Rumeu explained, but rather on emphasising the moody atmosphere through careful material choices.
      “We decided to use honest and expressive materials which are pleasant for the senses and accentuate the value of shadows,” the architect pointed out.
      “In-situ concrete walls, dark walnut floors, white marble and glazed tiles create a rich atmosphere in which subtle changes of light become apparent throughout the day and the seasons.”
      Monolithic wooden staircases feature in the living room and the foyerGurrea Rumeu also used simple architectural interventions to amplify the sensorial experience within the home, with voids and openings allowing sunlight to illuminate the spaces in intriguing ways.
      Monolithic wooden staircases located in the entrance lobby and living room follow the home’s two main axes and add complexity to the circulation. Their bold presence helps to emphasise the volume of these double-height spaces.
      The majority of the building’s structure is left exposed, with services and false ceilings concentrated towards the centre of the plan.
      Concrete ceilings add a brutalist touchA central concrete core conceals the upper flights of stairs and supports the floor slabs, while one of the structural steel columns is left exposed on each level as a nod to the building’s construction.
      The columns become a feature in their respective rooms, becoming thinner higher up in the building as the load reduces.
      The property contains a limited and carefully curated selection of furniture including vintage pieces, bespoke elements and classic designs chosen for their special significance to the owners.
      Tiles complete the home’s tactile material paletteGurrea Rumeu received his master’s from the Royal College of Art in London before completing his Professional Practice diploma at the AA School of Architecture. He worked for firms in Beijing, Paris and Barcelona before establishing his own studio in 2020.
      Other recently completed homes in Barcelona include La Clara by CRÜ, which is set inside a former public laundry, and a brick extension to a 19th-century terrace house by H Arquitectes.
      The photography is by Max Hart Nibbrig.

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