A World of Surprises: Barcelona Apartment by Raul Sanchez Architects.

This spacious apartment in Barcelona has received the royal Raul Sanchez treatment. The architect divided the interior into public and private zones with a long and striking walnut timber ‘façade’.

Located in a building that was once a noble estate, dating back to the 19th century, the home enjoys views facing the bustling Girona Street and a large interior courtyard typical of Barcelona’s Eixample area. Yet inside is just as interesting.

On one side of the timber panel—running the entire 21-metre length of the apartment—spaces with a more collective use follow one another, from oversized living and dining rooms to ambiguous nooks with original stained glass windows. Brass and stainless steel are used to bookend the facade in the living room and a pivot door at the other end creates a union of metal at each end of the floor plan.

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White microcement flooring flows through the common spaces only interrupted by overlapping recovered mosaic tiles akin to carpet. Raul saturated key spaces with colour via specifically designed integrated furniture from the dining area with midnight blue panels and the kitchen doused in wall-to-floor emerald green.

On the other side of the walnut facade, you will find the more private spaces. Hidden from the outside thanks to flush doors a world of surprises lies underneath. The kitchen opens onto the dining room like a world of green and the shared bathroom plays with different shades and textures. In the bedrooms, there is a sense of calm with oak timber floors alongside accents in blue.

If you feel there is something you can’t quite put your finger on, don’t be surprised that Raul is in on the joke. “There is a vague intention of leaving the spaces somehow unfinished, with a subtle incomplete character, opening up the different options for occupying and using them,” concludes the architect.

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[Images courtesy of Raul Sanchez Architects. Photography by Jose Hevia.]