Building of 20 dwellings between party walls on Paseo de Gracia

It is a mid-19th century building located between Passeig de Gracia and Riera de Sant Miquel streets in Barcelona.

The pre-existing building was the result of the merger of two adjacent properties (Paseo de Gracia No. 125 and 127).

It had a basement floor intended for storage of the premises located on the ground floor, with vehicle and pedestrian access from Riera de Sant Miquel street, a ground floor intended for commercial premises and the main lobby of the apartments, and the upper floors intended for residential use.

The main facade facing northeast is the one on Paseo de Gracia, and it is aligned with the rest of the buildings. It is where the access to the residential lobby and the main access to the commercial premises are located. The elevation difference between Paseo de Gracia and Riera Sant Miquel streets is approximately 1.70m.

The rear facade facing southwest is on Riera de Sant Miquel street.

The vertical core corresponding to property no. 125 consisted of an open staircase and an elevator. This core connected all floors (ground, main, and 4 upper floors) with the staircase reaching up to the roof floor. This building had 2 apartments per floor, each on a different facade.

The vertical core corresponding to property no. 127 was composed of an open staircase with an elevator located in the stairwell. These cores connected all the floors (ground, main, 4 upper floors, and attic). This other building also had 2 apartments per floor, both had openings on the main facade and the rear.

The rehabilitation of both buildings is based on the premise of maintaining the existing volume and the protected facade facing Passeig de Gracia. The main facade maintains the composition of openings, considering that property 125 is a twin of 123. The ground floor openings of property 127 and the basement level on Riera Sant Miquel street will standardize the heights of the openings.

All existing carpentries are being replaced with others that comply with the current CTE regulations.

The main operation, agreed upon with Patrimoni, is the replacement of the stair cores with a single one that has a central space organizing the patios, elevators, and necessary installations. This decision is the result of the following motivations:

The stair cores of the pre-existing building lacked architectural quality.

His position hindered the organization of the necessary spaces in the plant, such as patios, etc., making a possible proposal unfeasible.

Both cores were unnecessary for the current proposal, which only needs one. Moreover, their dimensions and conditions did not meet the corresponding regulations.

The previous cores obstructed the commercial space, as their position was central. With the current proposal, a more usable commercial space is achieved, with a better relationship with the facades, enhancing the views from side to side.

The building is adapted to the minimum necessary conditions and also complies with current regulations (stairs, patios, etc.) with a partial demolition of the building in the central part, which involves 45% of the floor area in relation to the building's floor plan.

The area to be demolished coincides with the central and interior zone of the building where 12% of the patios, the service patios, the stair core, and the 2 elevators (complying with the accessibility code) are located.

This newly constructed central area also allows for the creation of an internal structural ring to consolidate the two buildings. Coinciding with the position of this structural ring, the entire area is lowered by 2 basement floors, enabling the connection of the pre-existing area with a level -2 so that the building can have parking and not suffocate an urban area with so many parking space shortages as this one.

The facade facing Riera de Sant Miquel Street, lacking notable characteristics and having observed its poor condition, proposes a solution with the intention of preserving the gallery language. To this end, the facade plane is redone with a single type of carpentry that spans the entire height on each floor and a metal structure hung in the form of a gallery 45 cm deep (to allow for cleaning the windows from above and from the outside) which incorporates wooden folding shutters.

These shutters serve the purpose of privatizing the views and protecting against the setting sun. The galleries have been plastered in ivory color, and the gallery structure has been painted black, following the instructions from Patrimoni.