Three windows and a staircase

Olot, Spain

Photo © José Hevia

Estado actual - intervención

Drawing © As found - proposal

Drawing © unparelld'arquitectes

Secciones intervención

Drawing © unparelld'arquitectes

Single Houses

Architects: unparelld'arquitectes

Location: Olot, Spain
Year: 2018
Client: Private
Team: Xevi Rodeja, Míriam Soler, Thommy Parra, Sara Palmada, Sergi Jiménez, Clàudia Calvet
Builder: Construccions J. Pallàs, S.L., Fusteria Jordi, S.L.

A west-facing front with three repeated openings and a low ledge. A staircase with a straight section that faces the middle window. These features take on value and add a lush feeling of comfort and design to this couple's duplex. It was a highly fragmented home with rooms that were too narrow.

A platform was added running the length of the façade, raised two steps from the ground, bringing the windows and stairs into relationship. It forms a bench where you can sit in the light, widening the area between the façade and the staircase, creating an intimate little dining nook.

The relocated kitchen leans against the stairs to one side. The other side opens onto the living room, a generous-sized 4 x 4m. It is enclosed by a series of partitions, including a stepped lintel, a baseboard and the platform itself. These features graduate the hierarchy with regard to the other living spaces and imbue the flat with visual depth.

A slight adjustment to the rooms on the top floor allowed for a corridor-dressing room to be fitted in at the top of the stairs, bathed in natural light.

The platform is built from OSB board, because it is lightweight, economical and does not need to be finished. This same material extends to the rest of the floors in the main rooms. To finish and the strengthen boards' edges, decorative trim was added in black melamine and brass.