The architectural studio Pineda Monedero has carried out the extension of a house dating from 1900 in Sabadell, Spain. The existing building is located between party walls, consisting of a two-floor house with a courtyard. 

The intervention maintains the street façade and the Catalan vault on the first floor. To grow in height, the rest of the space is emptied, both inside and outside. Thus, the building is allowed to grow in height and reduce its footprint, obtaining a three-floor house.
Pineda Monedero designed a completely diaphanous first floor, which opens onto the courtyard thanks to a large window. The house is crossed by a perforated metal staircase, which serves as a light separator of environments. The house is completed on the top floor with a multipurpose space that respects the volumetry generated by the gable roof.

The construction is resolved through the combination of traditional and contemporary resources and materials, where in the same space coexist wooden beams with elements made of steel and glass. This action seeks the contrast between the patina of the past and the new construction materials.


Convent House by Pineda Monedero. Photograph by José Hevia.
 

Project description by Pineda Monedero

Convent House is the extension of a 1900 house between party walls in Sabadell, Barcelona. The existing building was a two-storey house with an overbuilt courtyard. The intervention preserves the street façade and the Catalan vault on the ground floor. The rest is emptied with the aim of growing in height and reducing the building’s footprint by freeing up as much space as possible in the courtyard.

The result is a three-storey house. The ground floor is a completely diaphanous space open to the patio with a large window hiding its limits behind the vault. A perforated metal sheet staircase pierces the building from top to bottom, as a light, translucent element that separates spaces without obstructing them. The new floor is a multi-purpose space preserving the existing volume of the gable roof.

Our constructive approach uses traditional techniques such as wooden beamed slabs with contemporary materials such as glass and steel. The new windows made of steel frames and silver blinds, are ready-made artifacts protruding from the façade. This deliberate attitude seeks to contrast the patina of the past with the new building materials.

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Architects
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Project team
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Antón Monedero, Àlex Pineda, Arnau Reventós, Jaime Prous.
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Collaborators
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Victor Oteo, Agustí Roig.
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Builder
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Area
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180 sqm.
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Location
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Sabadell, Spain.
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Photography
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Pineda Monedero is an architectural firm based in Barcelona founded by Àlex Pineda and Antón Monedero. It is a young studio with a long experience at an individual level, both nationally and internationally.

Context, containment and contrast are repeated in their creative process. They approach the design of commissions as objects defined in relation to their environment. Each project is based on constant exploration and the search for an optimized result.
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Published on: January 3, 2023
Cite: "Contrast between past and new. Convent House by Pineda Monedero" METALOCUS. Accessed
<https://www.metalocus.es/en/news/contrast-between-past-and-new-convent-house-pineda-monedero> ISSN 1139-6415
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