House 1014 by H Arquitectes // Barcelona, Spain.

Situated just outside Barcelona in the old city of Granollers, a red brick wall spans the gap between two crumbling facades, hiding a home with two courtyards and a central garden designed by H Arquitectes. Timber gates slide back from the lower storey of the brick facade, into an enclosed patio and parking area to the rear of House 1014.

Two brick patios bracket the family home, offering a sheltered transition area from the street on either side of the block, while a further garden splits the space into two distinct halves – one for more private domestic activities, and another for entertainment. Retractable glass and metal roofs cover the patios, capturing heat in winter and providing shade in summer.

An original stone facade with ornamental window frames and an arched doorway was preserved by the architects to create a pedestrian entrance from a street on the other side of the block. The uneven blockwork of the new facade, with veins of narrow brick running through its regularly arranged rows, references the original irregular stone masonry. The arched doorway in the old facade opens from the main street into a brick-lined outdoor space adjacent to the domestic area, which contains a family kitchen where a lamp with a large metallic hood hangs low over a timber table.

[Images courtesy of H Arquitectes. Photography © Adrià Goula.]