Empty the house to rethink it

The renovation of a small, simple terraced house in the center of Badalona was approached as an emptying exercise in order to rethink the way of living and the interior layout, and above all, to create more open and much brighter spaces. Architects Anna Prats and Joan Valls, founders of the studio that bears their names, did so by emptying and redistributing, in collaboration with fellow architect Pol Viladoms. They had to empty that house, which hadn't been inhabited for years and had accumulated a significant amount of moisture because it was closed, compartmentalized, lacking ventilation, and, above all, lacking natural light. However, the exercise they undertook went far beyond a simple emptying.

In addition to knocking down the partition walls that divided the interior and some additions that had been added over the years, removing the false ceiling was a crucial decision. The house gained extraordinary height, revealing a large volume beneath the old sloping roof, in which strategic skylights have been opened. Having this volume, and with natural light, in a building between party walls with a long and narrow floor plan, in this case 4.8 meters wide by 14 meters long—up to 20 if the small rear patio is included—is essential to bring in light, but above all, to allow the house, and especially those who live within, to breathe.

Thus, empty, lightly whitewashed to highlight the original textures—and increase the luminosity—and, in addition, with the roof, which now displays the old beams and the pieces that have always been between them, one can see how the architects have made the original structure of the house into an envelope with a certain comfort, with a certain history, for.

Communication and intimacy

In any case, in the renovation of the home, beyond the emptying, what's most interesting is how a kind of box was created, a wooden construction within the original building, which creates a new layout of the space and expands its usable area. It's a large piece that the architects used to build a loft, but also to include the more private rooms, the bedroom, and some multifunctional spaces. All this without isolating it, because this type of giant piece of furniture has enough doors, shutters, and balconies to become a flexible space that, in any case, facilitates communication between the most intimate and the most social areas.

However, the piece of furniture that architects Anna Prats, Joan Valls, and Pol Viladoms designed for the Badalona home provides the most privacy. Another piece of furniture runs the length of the home, almost from the entrance. It has different heights and functions: in one section it provides storage for the home, and in another, it serves as a complementary piece of furniture for the living area, eventually rising almost to the ceiling and becoming a kitchen that reaches out to the rear patio. Furthermore, a very functional—or rather, multifunctional—piece is the large wooden table, designed to serve as a dining area and as a complementary space for kitchen tasks, and which will also accommodate play, study, and work. The fact that it is a table on casters means it can be moved to suit individual needs, even to the small patio, for easy outdoor dining.