Casa Batlló opens the last original dwelling in the building

BarcelonaThe ownership of Casa Batlló continues to delve into the building's history and find new uses to keep it alive. They are now opening to the public the last floor inhabited by the descendants of the Batlló family for over a hundred years, after carrying out an archaeological restoration of all elements. The apartment had been preserved with "exceptional authenticity," as stated in the press release issued by the ownership, and it constitutes "a valuable testimony to Barcelona domestic life in the early 20th century." The chief architect of Casa Batlló and head of the recovery works, Xavier Villanueva, points out that the one on the third floor is the original dwelling that remained in Casa Batlló because around 1950 all others were modified except this one because it was rented to the Batlló family. The third and fourth generations of the Batllós lived in the apartment for over 100 years, until 2019.

The apartment is located on the third floor of the house and, in addition to being an extension of the visit to the building, it will be available as private rooms where to hold tailor-made meetings, gatherings, and celebrations. During the restoration process, all the woodwork, pavements, stuccoes, and tools have been analyzed and restored. Pieces that were too deteriorated have been replaced with new ones, with a combination of “traditional techniques and contemporary knowledge”, thanks to the work of local artisans. “The process has been approached as archaeological work: carefully removing the layers accumulated over decades to bring out the true nature of the dwelling. Underneath paintings, additions, and later renovations, surprising findings have appeared and an architecture that remained practically intact”. Two outstanding findings have been made: floral decorations hidden for decades under layers of paint and a handle designed by Gaudí, "unknown".

During the restoration, the stuccoes in the main rooms and hallways have been recovered, which has made it possible to bring to light different tones and textures. Ceilings with organic shapes and numerous intended hooks have also been restored. The pavements have been one of the major challenges of the restoration. As they were in very bad condition, they have been faithfully reproduced from the originals, piece by piece. On the other hand, the restoration has recovered all the hardware elements (knobs, handles, and original mechanisms). Regarding the new uses, the architect and designer Paola Navone – OTTO Studio has designed an interior based on “respect for the existing space”.

Villanueva also explains that with this apartment they have discovered that the basic characteristics preserve those that are also present on the main floor of Casa Batlló. "The concept of ventilation, color, shapes, materials, or the quality of spaces, was all under layers from different eras. From the 20s, 40s, 60s, 80s, and early 2000s. Under all these layers we have found the original apartment". "It was not in very good condition - he adds -, but it was recoverable, which is the important thing. The image we have today of the container, the dwelling itself, is the closest state to the original that we can have".

In this regard, Villanueva recalls that the inhabitants of the apartment adapted it to their needs according to social and cultural changes: "It is not the same to be in 1917, which is when this apartment was occupied by the family, until the year 2019, which is 102 years later". Regarding the restoration process, besides insisting that it has been archaeological, he admits that it has been complex because it required removing layers from 2019 to 1906. "It has been an extremely meticulous process - he concludes -, because it was full of details, many more details than we could have imagined. We thought it would be more basic, conceptually, but, on the other hand, we have seen that it has an exceptional richness in terms of the quality of materials, colors, shapes, and it has been very interesting".