Located in a prominent location in the center of Barcelona, Casa Pich I Pon by SCOB Architecture & Landscape draws on noble materials and craft techniques for comfortable interior environments marked by elegance and simplicity.
The architectural proposal evokes the essence of the Noucentisme movement from the original building Casa Pich i Pon, designed by the architect Josep Puig i Cadafalch at the beginning of the 20th century.
Noucentisme in Catalonia was a Catalan cultural movement of the early 20th century that originated largely as a reaction against Modernism, both in art and ideology
The key strategies of the intervention are based on recovering the large open spaces, originally designed to be flexible, and promoting the essential values of that cultural and architectural movement.
Sharing ideas in open and healthy spaces to create collective knowledge, direct contact with natural light and outdoors, the use of noble materials and craft techniques, and comfortable interior environments in which elegance and simplicity predominate, are some of the features that connect LOOM’s values with the intellectual tendencies of the second decade of the 20th century.
The sensation of community is closely linked to the sensation of belonging.
For that reason the designers wanted to highlight the values and philosophy of contemporary workspaces, generated by the spirit of collaboration, community and shared effort.
The design aims to recreate a modern version of the classic athenaeum.
These places represent successful models of social and cultural exchange in many cities, but especially Barcelona, dating from the beginnings of the 20th Century, hybrid spaces that combine work and research, informal meeting, cultural events and a sensation of “being at home.”
The choice of materials such as wood, ceramic, marble, velvet, rattan, cork, and cotton fabrics accentuate this material and temporal throwback.
SCOB has renovated six of the eight floors of this building located in the center of Barcelona, including the terraces from which magnificent views can be admired.
The designers’ strategy for this reform started with the desire to recover the large open spaces, historically conceived as flexible areas, and enhance those values of Loom that align with the cultural movement of the Novecentismo.
SCOB reads and reinterprets some of the aesthetic resources of the time, such as geometric drawings in coffered ceilings and pavements, to use them as a resource in the reorganization of spaces, and the enhancement of the heritage facade of Plaza Catalunya.
This same strategy is used to make the most of the available free heights, as well as to rediscover the original structures and materials through new “interior windows” practiced on ceilings and walls.
From a programmatic point of view, workspaces are distributed along the facades, to take advantage of the visual and natural light, while collaborative spaces are located in the heart of the floor.
The proposal takes advantage of the central area farthest from the perimeter built where people cross the space intuitively, to establish shared work points and reinforce that natural interaction.
In its original state, the floors were occupied by the offices of different companies owned by businessman Joan Pich i Pon.
Subsequently, and until the current remodeling of the space, it has been used by numerous headquarters of various companies and entities.
Special emphasis has been placed on restoring the columns, patio carpentry, and access doors, as they were the only original elements left from the intervention of Puig i Cadafalch.
In the case of pavements, the installation is completely new and is inspired by the Novecentismo aesthetic, both in composition, colors, textures, and materials.
The lobby ceilings of the sixth floor and some of the carpentry on this floor are not original but a more or less faithful reproduction that was made in the 80s during a restoration of the facade and the building expansion.
SCOB has respected that part and restored it.
For this project, most of the work was done with materials and specialized workshops at the local and state level: carpenters, plasterers, marble workers, upholsterers, textiles, ceramists, graphic artists, illustrators, furniture manufacturers.
The visual harmony is reinforced through the combination of natural wood and white, sienna, and wine tones, which provide well-being and serenity, and enhance the natural light that extends throughout the floor.
In some points, such as walls or upholstery, a more vibrant accent has been used using colorful motifs.
Bathrooms and kitchens have been covered with earthy-toned ceramics.
The use of this small-format ceramic, typically domestic, helps to reinforce the comfortable feeling of a home.
For its part, the furniture in the common areas coordinate perfectly with the noble materials of the space; wood, cork, rope, leather.
The fabrics, as well as some vintage furniture pieces in some spaces, provide the counterpoint transporting us to the historical past of the building.
As for workspaces, the sobriety and simplicity of the furniture are combined with large white voile curtains, which provide domestic warmth by diluting the border between workspaces and cultural leisure and rest areas.
The terraces are one of the most imposing elements of this project, not only for the spectacular views they offer of the center of the city but also for their own style.
The furniture and vegetation are inspired by the typically Barcelona galleries and terraces and combine different options to install, providing areas for rest and work and outdoor meeting.
Project: Casa Pich i Pon
Architects: SCOB Architecture & Landscape, Sergi Carulla Altadill, and Oscar Blasco Lázaro
Design Team: Sergi Carulla Altadill, Oscar Blasco Lázaro, Jordi Llort, and Carla Torra
Original Architect: Josep Puig i Cadafalch
Interior Designer: David Martín, Estudi Martín
Graphic Designer: Maurici Ginès, Artec Studio
Client: Merlin Properties
Photographers: José Hevia and Javier Bravo
