Casa Pizarro – A Modern Apartment Renovation Maintains Character

Set in La Barceloneta, Barcelona, this 570 square foot (53 square meters) apartment, dubbed Casa Pizarro, has been refurbished by local design firm, A53.

 

The intervention comes after the property having gone through a number of renovations. The hogwash of modifications resulted in the apartment losing its “beauty and charm”, something which the designers were keen to bring back to the forefront.

Casa Pizarro - A53 + Marc Mazeres - Barcelona - Kitchen and Dining Room - Humble Homes

 

The project focused on recovering the traditional character of the property, while also creating a comfortable home for the owner that had plenty of natural light and ventilation. The first step was to remove the variety of small dark rooms that had been added over time.

Casa Pizarro-Apartment Refurbishment in Barceloneta

 

The purging process revealed many of the home’s traditional features, including the vaulted Catalan ceiling and the colorful ceramic tiles. Many of the original features were still in good condition and had simply been covered up, allowing them to be reincorporated into the new design.

Casa Pizarro-Apartment Refurbishment in Barceloneta

The “new” apartment is a bright space characterised by white walls and ceilings, a grey concrete floor that’s dispersed by colorful blocks of tiles, and wood, which is used to frame around the window and door openings. It all adds up to a very tranquil, almost minimalist, home.

Casa Pizarro-Apartment Refurbishment in Barceloneta

The layout was simplified with the third bedroom from the previous plan being removed. This made way for a large open plan living room, kitchen and dining area. It also allowed for the reintroduction of the exterior balcony to the front, which previously wasn’t been used all that much due to it being split across two rooms.

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The back end of the apartment contains the more private rooms – the two bedrooms, and a bathroom. The bathroom, found next to the kitchen, has a horizontal window that connects it to the kitchen, and allows natural light to pervade the space. They’ve also created a small sheltered balcony to the rear which originally housed the kitchen.

For more small apartments check out this 236 square foot property in Tiepei by Little Design. Or, this 269 square foot micro-apartment that’s been designed to cater for a chef. See all apartments.

Via ArchDaily
Photos: Nicolas Fotografia

Niall Burke

Structural engineer by day, tiny house designer by night. Niall has a keen interest in small spaces, green design, and sustainability. He started developing Humble Homes while studying for his masters degree in engineering. He is the founder and managing editor of Humble Homes.

1 Comment
  1. I like the openness but especially the kitchen area but needs more storage area above. Possibly think about either tile for the entire floor or wooden floors and use a blue couch instead of just a white couch., more medium blue to sky blue to make you feel that you are in the clouds and would help you feel cooler Keep furnings soft and cool, nothing dark but use ice colors light to medium colors. How deep is the books shelves? Can it accommodate a regular book or paperback and shelves should have been extended to the opposite wall and not split and more shelves below. I like it but it needs a little more work.