El Sargazo Apartments

The area along the extensive beach of Castelldefels was meant to be for various reasons -proximity, climate, space – the perfect zone to expand the already congested Barcelona.

Planned in a pinewood along that coast, the program for El Sargazo residential development initially combined 33 apartments with community amenities and a restaurant. The scheme grouped the community facilities in a multilevel building while the apartments extended horizontally.

Ensuring easy access to the site and community services, the project aimed to combine an active social life along with maximum privacy for the residents.  The layout maximizes sun exposure and cross ventilation providing passive environmental devices.

Exploiting the advantages of rationalism: precast construction economy, functionality, etc., the team surpassed its disadvantages with the use of earth tone colors on the facades and traditional construction methods for the bar kiosk, although structural demands prompted the modulation of the residential units and the maximum standardization of secondary elements.

Both horizontally and vertically the insertion of the apartment blocks avoids rigid or extremely geometric solutions. The team’s concern to mark a difference with the rationalist tradition shows in some decorative elements like the gargoyles on the roofs.