Under cover: PMMT draw on Catalan tradition for tile-clad TR House
As if building a house isn’t already a design and logistical challenge, imagine having to build a second one on the same sloping site, but in a way that is unobtrusive whilst mainlining its own space and privacy. Barcelona-based architects PMMT solved the puzzle with commendable aplomb for this three-storey family home in St Gervasio, a residential neighborhood in Barcelona at the foot of Tibidabo Mountain.
Built in the gardens that surround an existing 19th-century home belonging to the client’s parents, the biggest challenge was to integrate the new building into the landscape, and without blocking any views of the parents’ house. The fairly steep slope required the architects to split the volume of the house, so that the whole is terraced on separate levels below street level.
The resulting orientation of the TR House has meant that most of the interiors face inwards towards an open core through which light pours in, to create a calmness of space that is almost Japanese in its austerity.
Take an interactive tour of TR House
Maximià Torruella, PMMT’s general director, says ‘all of the rooms and spaces in the house are organized around a central courtyard, and all feature differing connections with their surroundings based on their specific needs.’
The façade is a mix of glass and vertical timber slats, but the eye is always drawn to the pergola on the upper floor terrace where a cloak of green vitrified ceramic tiles, assembled on a stainless steel wired net, practically cascades down the side of the building.
The use of tiles in this way – part of a new patented building material and technique dubbed Fabrik and manufactured by the New Jersey-based Shildan Group, that debuted at this year’s AIA Convention – meant the architects were able to create open internal spaces that are protected from the sun and neighbours, while blending in with the surrounding greenery.
‘Glazed ceramic has always been a traditional material in Catalan architecture because it can endure humidity and strong sun without noticeable change to its properties,’ says Torruella. ‘Moreover, Fabrik has the benefit of being a traditional material fused with a new technology. We also appreciated the possibility of using the product both vertically and horizontally, so that we could build the home's façades and its roof using a single solution.’
INFORMATION
For more information visit the architect’s website
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
Daven Wu is the Singapore Editor at Wallpaper*. A former corporate lawyer, he has been covering Singapore and the neighbouring South-East Asian region since 1999, writing extensively about architecture, design, and travel for both the magazine and website. He is also the City Editor for the Phaidon Wallpaper* City Guide to Singapore.
-
Gardens & Villas offers the unexpected through ‘deconstructed’ desert living in California
Gardens & Villas, a home in Las Quintas, California, brings contemporary luxury to its desert setting through a collaboration between architects Andrew McClure and Christopher McLean
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Daniel Obasi discusses Lagos’ Amah members’ club, where vocation and wonder can meet
Amah, a new members’ club founded by photographer, art director and stylist Daniel Obasi, is a creative co-working space and meeting point for Lagos’ creative class
By Mazzi Odu Published
-
A closer look at Loewe’s delirious, erotically-charged collaboration with artist Richard Hawkins
‘Modern life has become a collage,’ said Jonathan Anderson after his A/W 2024 menswear show, which featured Los Angeles-based artist Richard Hawkins’ collages across sweaters and bags
By Jack Moss Published
-
Bodegas Faustino Winery celebrates process through its versatile vaulted visitor centre
Bodegas Faustino Winery completes extension by Foster + Partners in Spain, marking a new chapter to the long-standing history between the architecture practice and their client
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Playball Studio's architecture balances the organic and the technical
Playball Studio, a young Indo-Spanish design practice, features in the Wallpaper* Architects’ Directory 2024
By Pallavi Mehra Published
-
In Palma, beloved watch boutique Relojeria Alemana gets a dramatic revamp
Edificio RA for Relojeria Alemana has been redesigned by OHLAB, refreshing a historical landmark in Palma, Mallorca with a 21st-century twist
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Santiago Bernabéu stadium redesign: a sneak peek into the works
We take a tour of the Santiago Bernabéu stadium in Madrid, as the beloved sports facility is being given a refresh
By Agnish Ray Published
-
MOCA is a self-sufficient mobile home offering freedom to work (and roam)
MOCA (Mobile Catalyst) is a sustainable mobile home designed by the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia, and taking remote working to a new level
By Tianna Williams Published
-
Low-energy house in Catalonia minimises its footprint to make the most of its site
Alventosa Morell Arquitectes’ low-energy house in Catalonia nestles into the landscape
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
Hortensia Herrero Art Centre puts Valencia on the contemporary art map
Hortensia Herrero Art Centre launches in Valencia, offering a home for contemporary art to sit side by side with archaeological treasures
By Blaire Dessent Published
-
Collective, Hong Kong and Spain: Wallpaper* Architects Directory 2023
With bases in Hong Kong and Spain, Collective joins the Wallpaper* Architects’ Directory 2023, our annual round-up of exciting emerging architecture studios
By Ellie Stathaki Published