Viviendas Frente Marítimo

This housing complex was integrated into the layout of a more general master plan drawn up by the architect Carlos Ferrater, and comprises five housing blocks along the seafront in the Barcelona neighbourhood of Poblenou. The housing blocks have the same surface area and respect Cerdà’s grid layout—that is, city blocks of 113m by 113m. The composition of each block includes a first two-storey building that runs along the coastal road and is punctuated by a tower. At the back, a U-shaped building envelopes a large courtyard and meets the ends of the linear building facing the sea, while a street still provides access to, and allows movement across the courtyard. RBTA worked to design a housing block that fit the context of this urban development.

The Taller de Arquitectura’s offering thus comprised an impressive U-shaped building made entirely of red brick, a material that celebrates regional tradition and competes with the glass building. The latter is tall and transparent, fostering a variety of views over the city and sea. It seemed clear the housing-block tower would reduce the brick’s density and thickness, gently rising skywards to look out across the landscape.

The brick building welcomes a very diverse typology of apartments, the rhythm of which can be discerned in the façade. The combination of bricks creates different mouldings and, consequently, the delicate ornamentation of the façades. As they rise upwards, the façades lose their density. The empty spaces take over the solid as the load is reduced. The openings grow bigger until it’s possible to make out a double-height layout on the final floors, with terraces linked to duplex apartments. The ground-floor apartments enjoy individual gardens for the most part, which are separated from the central communal park by thin partitions made from translucent glass.

The courtyard is open to residents but is also accessible to the city, and generates activity linked to the residence, while also welcoming external flows. It’s green, generously planted with olive trees, and is evenly distributed with urban street furniture and children’s play equipment. Thus, the residential complex shelters the intimacy of living spaces, the opportunity to forge a strong communal relationship between its residents, and the possibility of interacting with the movement of the city. The multiple states associated with each space is made possible by the subtle succession of each.