See Why This Family’s 463-Square-Foot Spanish Apartment Feels Much Larger

published Mar 29, 2024

See Why This Family’s 463-Square-Foot Spanish Apartment Feels Much Larger

published Mar 29, 2024
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Bedrooms
Square feet

463

Sq ft

463

Maite Borén and Genís Fernandez are both architects and co-founders (along with Pau Ramon) of the architecture studio nord arquitectes. Adept at designing residential spaces in Catalonia but also tackling large commercial spaces, the couple discovered a new design challenge when it came to remodeling their own home they share with their son, Lluc. 

Credit: Lula Poggi

Among the challenges of working and living together (something the couple says is both a “challenge and pleasure,”) another consideration was simply the size of this apartment in Barcelona’s Gracia neighborhood: The entire home is a mere 463 square feet. 

Credit: Lula Poggi

“The interior of the apartment was completely demolished and rethought with a new eye and our new needs, prioritizing fewer and larger pieces,” Maite describes.

Credit: Lula Poggi

“The project aims to experiment with volume, to work with different degrees of privacy, to offer different types of space within the same volume. Open path, fluidity of movement.”

Credit: Lula Poggi

“The existing volume has been stripped to show its materiality and to add the new elements necessary for the new requirements of the project,” she continues.

Credit: Lula Poggi

Maite explains that they basically “reversed the layout of the entire house,” switching the balcony and entrance of the home to be closer to the balcony and sunlight, and then tucked the bedroom closer to the back so it was a bit darker and quieter. 

Credit: Lula Poggi

And of course, the size of the space and making sure they maximized every inch was something they had to tackle — and something they achieved with a smart floor plan, tons of storage, and a simple, clean materials palette.

Resources

Credit: Lula Poggi

LIVING ROOM

  • Sofa — Habitat (doesn’t exist anymore)
  • Illustrations — Gyotako made by us, lithography from Fernando Zobel
Credit: Lula Poggi

DINING ROOM

  • Table — Made by us with our blacksmith
Credit: Lula Poggi

KITCHEN

  • Carpenter made

Thanks, Maite and Genís!

This tour’s responses and photos were edited for length/size and clarity.