A Barcelona apartment set in the vibrant Mediterranean city's heart, overlooking the Collserola Natural Park, Capitán House transforms 108 square meters into an inventive study of geometry, light, and colour. The project is the work of Septiembre Arquitectura, a studio known for precise, poetic interventions that balance simplicity with surprise and a strong sense of material clarity.
Inside a Barcelona apartment built around geometry and flow
Here, the architects – Damián Figueras, Patricia Parra, and Germán Ribera – took a deceptively simple approach: establishing a central 'square' anchored by a circular island, a move that organises the apartment’s setbacks and defines its main social spaces. 'It focuses on the sequence of experiences that unfold as you move from the central square into the rest of the apartment,' says Figueras. Variations in ceiling height and colour gradually reveal distinct atmospheres, reinforcing the idea of movement and transition.
The 'square' is articulated through a continuous band of stained birch built-ins, which both structures the plan and frames daily life. At 2.2 meters, a perimeter shelf runs uninterrupted, functioning as a bookshelf that encloses the space. Below that datum, the band shifts programmatically, forming kitchen cabinetry, a dining and living bench, and storage. This birch envelope also encourages discovery: when panels are opened, a vivid red interior emerges. Pantry, cabinetry, and a central corridor are saturated in this colour, leading to three bedrooms along diagonal sightlines that visually connect spaces in unexpected ways and lend a sense of depth to the compact plan.
The narrative continues in the bathrooms, where microcement floors and lower walls provide a tactile, grounding element, while tiles in greens and pinks wrap upper surfaces and ceilings. Mirrors and carefully placed lighting animate these materials, producing subtle shifts that change throughout the day. Each room becomes a small, immersive experience that reveals layers of hues, form, and light.
The material palette reinforces the balance between bold gestures and quiet elegance. Natural walnut flooring, custom birch furniture, and white Macael marble countertops offer warmth and restraint, grounding the more dramatic chromatic moments. 'As the doors are gradually opened, new colours and materials are revealed, creating the feeling of inhabiting different places within the same home,' notes Parra.
'The layout revolves around a large, calm square that becomes the social heart. Around it, supporting functions act as a bridge between the ideal and the real,' adds Ribera. More than an apartment, Capitán House becomes a compact canvas for a joyful everyday lived experience.