Casa Pilar

Is it possible to bring the spirit of Seville into a 1970s residential tower in Barcelona? For the owner, this apartment is a tribute to her two homes: the house of her childhood and Barcelona, the city where she has lived for over a decade.

Located in the Andrade Tower, a 1974 project by the prestigious firm Martínez Lapeña-Torres Arquitectos, the apartment was well-preserved. Despite having undergone some modifications, it retained the original design's enviable orientation and natural light in every room (with the exception of the bathroom).

The renovation aimed to enhance the apartment's inherent qualities through carefully measured interventions: the kitchen’s existing cabinetry and finishes were preserved, while the space was opened up to the living room via a breakfast bar that connects the two areas, vastly increasing the sense of spaciousness. Opening the kitchen shortened the entrance hallway, allowing natural light to reach all the way to the front door.

The smallest of the apartment's original three bedrooms was merged with the master bedroom, creating a generous space that functions as a sleeping area, dressing room, and study. The compact bathroom was slightly enlarged to accommodate a washing machine, a large storage cabinet, and a bathtub. An interior window allows natural light to reach the darkest part of the apartment.

Materiality and color are fundamental to the project, imbuing it with its personality and evoking the landscapes and details characteristic of Seville. The color of “albero” (the earth-toned material found on the ground in parks and plazas) is carried up to the ceilings of the renovated areas. The balcony from the original 1974 design, which had previously been enclosed, is metaphorically restored by outlining its original footprint with tiles that closely resemble those of the owner's childhood home, complemented by a curtain that filters the incoming light. A small bench clad in blue glazed ceramic serves as a stand for potted plants, evoking the atmosphere of Sevillian interior courtyards. This same flooring extends into the entryway, marking the threshold between the outside and the inside. Glazed ceramic appears once more, this time in green, on kitchen and bathroom surfaces, recalling Andalusian fountains and courtyards.

The hallway, shortened by the merging of two bedrooms, terminates in an arch, a direct reference to the façade of the house in Seville. This arch frames a blue velvet curtain that provides privacy for the master bedroom; the design draws inspiration from Sevillian artistic traditions, particularly the Baroque style associated with Holy Week. By a happy coincidence, the combination of the curtain and the arch evokes the receding silhouette of a “paso de palio” (a processional float with a canopy), one of the owner's indelible childhood memories. In the end, everything falls into place.