Once a compact industrial warehouse in Barcelona’s Sants neighbourhood, this apartment was designed to include a considered use of wood, clay and stone, and given new life as an urban oasis
Named Elisi – Catalan for ‘place of peace and tranquillity’ – this Barcelona bachelor pad was anything but, prior to Spanish interior designer Nōe Prades’s involvement. Purchased by a young doctor who liked the idea of converting the space into his own residential oasis of calm, what today is a serene home in a building constructed in the 1930s, was formerly a mechanical workshop, a boutique, and an industrial warehouse.
“The apartment was originally a dark and closed structure that required a deep architectural intervention in order to be transformed into a carefully lit, habitable space,” Prades says of the 93m2 project. Walls were demolished, floor heights were adjusted, and original architectural elements preserved, like certain brick and stone walls, industrial windows, and volta Catalana ceilings (timber beams separated by brick barrel vaults). “My primary focus was to create a spacious and comfortable kitchen at the heart of the house and to separate the day and night areas by a wide sliding door.”
LIVING SPACE: The almost double-volume height of the living space adds a dramatic sense of openness and calm to the room, in which Prades opted to retain original brickwork on the street-facing wall as well as the volta Catalana ceilings. Entry to the bachelor pad is through the glass doors on the right of the room onto a herringbone clay brick landing, the rich texture of which contrasts with the polished concrete floors elsewhere in the space. There is tactility in the Kaab rug too, one of Prades’s designs for Dac Rugs. The interior designer was also responsible for the design of the bespoke oak shelving unit. The space includes a Knitting Lounge armchair (upholstered in bouclé) from Culto Store, an Oma Light Design standing lamp from vintage store Kensington 177, and two African tables from Azul Tierra.DINING SPACE: Adjacent to the living space, and with a more intimate ceiling height, is the dining area. The wooden sideboard on the far wall, as well as the two pendant lamps above the dining table, were vintage finds that the homeowner wanted to include in his new home. The photograph is by Anna Malagrida, and the dining table custom made for the space. The ceramics are by Fran Aniorte.KITCHEN: With a passion for cooking and entertaining, the homeowner insisted on a practical, spacious and clean-lined kitchen. Prades’s design of the functional space was his starting point for the project, and centres around a long island. The worktop for this is Macaúbas granite (a durable material chosen for its light-reflecting property), with vertical surfaces clad in skin-tone terracotta tiles. Adjustable tubular spotlights designed by Prades cast light onto the work surface. The kitchen and dining area form an intermediary space between the ‘daytime’ living area and the ‘nighttime’ bedroom, and glass and oak sliding doors (visible bottom left) close to separate the two zones.BEDROOM, BATHROOM AND PATIO: The master bedroom, en suite and patio (the latter two linked through herringbone clay brick flooring that extends from the bathroom outdoors) are the private quarters of the apartment. The warm earth tones of the exposed brick, wood and stone visible elsewhere in the apartment repeat here, as does a vaulted ceiling in the bedroom. A wooden shelf runs the length of the bedroom, providing display and storage space. Above it, a dramatic stone wall, as well as a concealed cinema screen for watching films and television. Adjacent to the upholstered headboard are two arched wooden doors which lead to a hidden dressing room and toilet respectively. Two openings in a brick wall lead to a bathroom with stepped shower. Sliding glass doors open completely, flooding the bathroom and bedroom with light and leading onto a compact patio.
