Nestled within a building designed by Antonio Gaudí, this apartment pairs its historical details with contemporary style
Think of Barcelona and Antoni Gaudí almost inevitably comes to mind; the flamboyant legacy that the Spanish architect left behind has turned Barcelona into an imaginative city that is unlike any other.
So it was with great relish when an architecture aficionado and art collector came to own an apartment housed within one of Gaudí’s inspiring structures. Located in the Eixample district, it’s situated in a remarkably well-preserved building that’s the first that the architect had authored in the neighbourhood.
The Istanbul-based homeowner admires the stained glass windows and ceramic mosaic tiles characteristic of the Art Nouveau period and was filled with joy to find these features in this building, along with the vaulted ceiling, a forged iron elevator, coffered wooden doors and other architectural details.
The passage of time however, had done some damage (although not irreparable) to these original elements of the apartment’s interior, which required careful attention. The owner looked to multidisciplinary practice Mimouca Barcelona Studio to renovate and restore the interior’s historic features, while adapting the space to the modern needs of his family.
“The objective was to preserve the original elements of the building and to restore their magnificence,” shares Marta Casas, the founder of Mimouca Barcelona Studio.Together with her team of eight, Casas selected colours, materials and lighting pieces that enhance and highlight the apartment’s period features, while conveying a sense of modern elegance.
The objective was to preserve the original elements of the building and to restore their magnificence