Barcelona Style: a renovation in the Gothic Quarter

David Kohn Barcelona style living

Two brothers who grew up in Barcelona entrusted David Kohn Architects with the remodeling of this rather unlivable but unusual apartment in a triangular block in the Gothic Quarter.

David Kohn Barcelona style

A first move consisted in stripping out the many walls that had been created giving more prominence to the 5m high ceilings again.

David Kohn Barcelona style bkitchen

Since the hydraulic tiles were quite damaged, Mosaics Martí (I didn’t know they were Antonio Gaudi‘s official supplier in the former days) created a new pattern and custom-made design with a lighter and darker red and green which gradate across the floor’s extent. The triangular pattern itself matches the plan’s geometry. If you watch the video below, you’ll see how the color changes from room to room. It’s almost imperceptible and pretty impressive.

David Kohn Barcelona style entrance

The tailor made diamond shaped dining table point towards the buildings’ angle allowing a gathering area that was missing at the older structure.

David Kohn Barcelona style bedroom

Bedrooms were created in a way they have the appearance of extra small buildings in a two-storey structure. The high-level library you see on the first picture becomes balconies that connect each bedroom to their en-suite bathrooms. So you have kind of two apartments in one.

Architect David Kohn explains in this video how he transformed the apartment into this award winning project through this exclusive video interview produced by Dezeen.

The two brothers living in Hong Kong and London use the apartment when spending their vacation in Barcelona which probably explains its quite minimalist decoration (for now). I have very much enjoyed watching the video and learning about the transformation process but of course you always love to see what happens in your own city. Let me know what you think about the tessellated surface!

How about some extra inspiration?

8 Responses

  1. I love the tiles and the graded effect of the colours. I understand why it is an award project, but I wouldn’t like to live there … it is missing life, coziness and that special “home sweet home” feeling that a house should have for me. But I loved to hear what the architect did with the original apartment! xxi.

    1. I know what you mean, since they don’t live there all year around, it could be a initial state. Would be interesting to see how it looks like in a year or so.x

  2. This is such a clever design, I love the tiles and how they have accented the walls and accessories in green and orange hues to pull the scheme together. xD

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

The Maker Culture Trend Report for 2024/25 ©Eclectic Trends

TREND PACKAGE / The Maker Culture 2024/25

Welcome to a roadmap to unlock four strategies for makers of the arts&crafts industry. The trend package includes a report with four new directions and 11 success stories, while the workbook shows how to take action and create your own strategy.

Follow our Wednesday Journal

Receive your dose of inspiration, education, and downloadable resources. By signing up now, you will access the last three editions.

The Mood Board Academy on Instagram