Agora Arquitectura were commissioned to restore 8 apartments of 150m2 of a residential building built in 1872 located in Montcada street in Barcelona.

It is the continuation of a previous commission to rehabilitate and restore the passageway and interior patio of the property, together with the installation of an elevator. Both projects form a unit and share intentions and criteria for action

The property is located in the cultural axis delimited by the Santa Caterina Market and the Born Market in Barcelona.

The architects initiated a meticulous archeology work. They stripped all the added hairpieces to see which elements still have the privilege of lasting over time and which were not very sensitive to the memory of the building.

Once the space was undressed, they found great stone lintels hidden under incongruous facade cladding,14 splendid Nolla mosaics and 27 hydraulic pieces of great chromatic wealth buried under inconsiderate pavements and eloquent coffered ceilings.

Some existing partitions were also removed in order to implement the planned new residential program.

When this happened, a T-shaped profile served to lower the dividing line, drawing a cornice that seeks to dialogue with the existing ones.

The windows and doors were practically preserved in their entirety. When this was not possible, they were replaced by new pine wood carpentry that showed their materiality in space.

They decided to maintain the presence of certain details that explain the memory of the place.

This is the case of the blue room, the green textures of the self-styled panic room or some first paintings of fabulous wealth chromatic that had appeared stripping some walls.

Horizontal lines of electricity were left visible. Water pipes were traced on the ground. On these traces, some monochromatic hydraulic parts recovered from the demolition of other nearby works were added.

Largely taking advantage of the perimeters of the hydraulic mats or the old traces of the removed partitions

Just when the greatness of the space has been put back into action, it was decided to carefully pose a kind of artifacts that introduce a new housing program.

For the kitchens, country marble was chosen for the countertop, 15x15 cm glazed tile for the hood and wood for the cabinets, establishing connections with the past of these rooms.

In this project by Agora, the instant of present time coexists with the memory of a building that has naturally brought to light some of the ghosts of its past.