This Girona house is an elegant merging of two period homes in the city’s centre. Set in a richly historical part of town, Casa Pujada del Rey Martí is the work of a collaboration between Spanish studios Fuses-Viader Architects and Montserrat Nogués Architect, and it blends its heritage location with a distinctly contemporary interior and minimalist architecture, fit for the 21st century.
‘The site, right outside the Roman city and in front of the former Via Augusta, was an ancient necropolis, from which human remains from the 2nd to 3rd century AD, remains of opus signinum [paving], and a funerary oven, that have been preserved, were found. During later construction, from the Carolingian period, medieval houses were built, [and] later highly modified,’ explains Nogués. In this powerful context, the team tackled the redesign of two adjacent plots – one of which contained a house in need of renovation, and the other the remains of a second, which was almost entirely destroyed.
The new home is designed around a new, central, internal courtyard that offers light, air and open space within the city-centre lot. Behind the restored, original façade, lies a world of minimalist internal volumes, tall ceilings and smooth timber floors. Original and new stone walls and arches meet exposed concrete and soft Dinesen Douglas flooring in a composition that feels entirely modern. At the same time, in a nod to the structures’ historical origins, traditional techniques such as manual stucco and coloured plastering with washed aggregate were also used in the construction.
Architectural simplicity and a pared-down approach to interior decor allow the bones of the building – both old and new – to shine through and craft the urban, contemporary identity of this Girona house. Casa Pujada del Rey Martí bridges styles and time periods effortlessly while cleverly adapting to the dense urban fabric around it.
INFORMATION
fusesviader.com
ammarquitectes.com
-
Nadia Lee Cohen distils a distant American memory into an unflinching new photo book‘Holy Ohio’ documents the British photographer and filmmaker’s personal journey as she reconnects with distant family and her earliest American memories
-
Hunker down in a perfectly equipped work-from-home hub this winterIf your WFH set-up needs an upgrade, or if you need to kit out a new small business from scratch, we’ve got you covered
-
All the winners from The Fashion Awards 2025Every winner from The Fashion Awards 2025, which took place at the Royal Albert Hall yesterday evening in a ceremony presented by Colman Domingo
-
In the heart of Basque Country, Bjarke Ingels unveils a striking modular building devoted to culinary researchSee what the architect cooked up for the Basque Culinary Center in San Sebastián, Spain
-
Spice up the weekly shop at Mallorca’s brutalist supermarketIn this brutalist supermarket, through the use of raw concrete, monolithic forms and modular elements, designer Minimal Studio hints at a critique of consumer culture
-
A Spanish house designed to ‘provide not just shelter, but a tangible, physical experience’A Spanish house outside Tarragona creates a tangible framework for the everyday life of a couple working flexibly in the digital world
-
Meet Ferdinand Fillod, a forgotten pioneer of prefabricated architectureHis clever flat-pack structures were 'a little like Ikea before its time.'
-
A courtyard house in northern Spain plays with classical influences and modernist formsA new courtyard house, Casa Tres Patis by Twobo Arquitectura, is a private complex that combines rich materiality and intriguing spatial alignments
-
In Santander, a cotton candy-coloured HQ is a contemporary delightSantander’s Colección ES Headquarters, a multifunctional space for art, office work, and hosting, underwent a refurbishment by Carbajo Hermanos, drawing inspiration from both travels and local context
-
This Madrid villa’s sculptural details add to its serene appealVilla 18 by Fran Silvestre Architects, one of a trilogy of new homes in La Moraleja, plays with geometry and curves – take a tour
-
This striking Spanish house makes the most of a tricky plot in a good areaA Spanish house perched on a steep slope in the leafy suburbs of Barcelona, Raúl Sánchez Architects’ Casa Magarola features colourful details, vintage designs and hidden balconies
