Mimicry and play of contrasts. Ca N’Alegre by Bergnes de las Casas
10/02/2022.
[BCN] Spain
metalocus, VALERIA OZUNA
metalocus, VALERIA OZUNA
Ca N'Alegre, a multi-family housing building designed by the Bergnes de las Casas studio, is located in the Vila de Gràcia district of Barcelona and is a sober and timeless building, halfway between an updated neorealist, Venetian perception.
The 875 m² project blends in with its modernist surroundings through a volume with an elegant but emphatic presence. With its neutral materiality, it manages to distinguish itself with a contemporary compositional language.
The 875 m² project blends in with its modernist surroundings through a volume with an elegant but emphatic presence. With its neutral materiality, it manages to distinguish itself with a contemporary compositional language.
Ca N’Alegre by Bergnes de las Casas. Photograph by Salva López.
Ca N’Alegre by Bergnes de las Casas. Photograph by Eugeni Pons.
Ca N’Alegre by Bergnes de las Casas. Photograph by Eugeni Pons.
Ca N’Alegre by Bergnes de las Casas. Photograph by Eugeni Pons.
Ca N’Alegre by Bergnes de las Casas. Photograph by Eugeni Pons.
Ca N’Alegre by Bergnes de las Casas. Photograph by Eugeni Pons.
Ca N’Alegre by Bergnes de las Casas. Photograph by Eugeni Pons.
Ca N’Alegre by Bergnes de las Casas. Photograph by Eugeni Pons.
Ca N’Alegre by Bergnes de las Casas. Photograph by Eugeni Pons.
Ca N’Alegre by Bergnes de las Casas. Photograph by Eugeni Pons.
Ca N’Alegre by Bergnes de las Casas. Photograph by Salva López.
Ca N’Alegre by Bergnes de las Casas. Photograph by Salva López.
Ca N’Alegre by Bergnes de las Casas. Photograph by Salva López.
Ca N’Alegre by Bergnes de las Casas. Photograph by Salva López.
Ca N’Alegre by Bergnes de las Casas. Photograph by Salva López.
Ca N’Alegre by Bergnes de las Casas. Photograph by Salva López.
Ca N’Alegre by Bergnes de las Casas. Photograph by Salva López.
Ca N’Alegre by Bergnes de las Casas. Photograph by Salva López.
Ca N’Alegre by Bergnes de las Casas. Photograph by Salva López.
Ca N’Alegre by Bergnes de las Casas. Photograph by Eugeni Pons.
Ca N’Alegre by Bergnes de las Casas. Photograph by Salva López.
Ca N’Alegre by Bergnes de las Casas. Photograph by Salva López.
Ca N’Alegre by Bergnes de las Casas. Photograph by Salva López.
Ca N’Alegre by Bergnes de las Casas. Photograph by Salva López.
Ca N’Alegre by Bergnes de las Casas. Photograph by Salva López.
Ca N’Alegre by Bergnes de las Casas. Photograph by Salva López.
Ca N’Alegre by Bergnes de las Casas. Photograph by Salva López.
Ca N’Alegre by Bergnes de las Casas. Photograph by Salva López.
Ca N’Alegre by Bergnes de las Casas. Photograph by Salva López.
Ca N’Alegre by Bergnes de las Casas. Photograph by Salva López.
Ca N’Alegre by Bergnes de las Casas. Photograph by Salva López.
Ca N’Alegre by Bergnes de las Casas. Photograph by Eugeni Pons.
Ca N’Alegre by Bergnes de las Casas. Photograph by Salva López.
Ca N’Alegre by Bergnes de las Casas. Photograph by Salva López.
Floor plans. Ca N’Alegre by Bergnes de las Casas.
Longitudinal section. Ca N’Alegre by Bergnes de las Casas.
Longitudinal section. Ca N’Alegre by Bergnes de las Casas.
Cross section. Ca N’Alegre by Bergnes de las Casas.
Elevation. Ca N’Alegre by Bergnes de las Casas.
Elevation. Ca N’Alegre by Bergnes de las Casas.
Elevation. Ca N’Alegre by Bergnes de las Casas.
Entrance detail. Ca N’Alegre by Bergnes de las Casas.
Axonometric detail. Ca N’Alegre by Bergnes de las Casas.
Facade detail. Ca N’Alegre by Bergnes de las Casas.
Encounter detail. Ca N’Alegre by Bergnes de las Casas.
Encounter detail. Ca N’Alegre by Bergnes de las Casas.
Encounter detail. Ca N’Alegre by Bergnes de las Casas.
Encounter detail. Ca N’Alegre by Bergnes de las Casas.
Reinterpreting the composition of its neighboring façade to establish a timeless dialogue between the two, the project by Bergnes de las Casas fragments the architectural volume into three parts.
The new building stands in an urban environment protected by the modernist building, Casa Gustà, from the early 20th century, encouraging a necessary urban dialogue that the architect resolves without formal mimicry with an elegant and balanced response. With a total of seven dwellings, distributed over a basement and four floors, the program is organized through a central core of vertical communication and two dwellings per landing.
The new building stands in an urban environment protected by the modernist building, Casa Gustà, from the early 20th century, encouraging a necessary urban dialogue that the architect resolves without formal mimicry with an elegant and balanced response. With a total of seven dwellings, distributed over a basement and four floors, the program is organized through a central core of vertical communication and two dwellings per landing.
The plinth or base of the building, formed by rows of exposed brick, seeks to connect with neighbouring properties and blur the topographical difference between the two streets, as it is broken at several heights.
Ca N’Alegre by Bergnes de las Casas. Photograph by Eugeni Pons.
The main body, in rough-textured beige, groups its openings into framed smooth sections that break up the weighty image of a unitary volume. Over it, the eaves form a light, timeless, classic pavilion, placed on the actual building, thereby distracting from the accentuated height of the building.
Description of project by Bergnes de las Casas
Ca N’Alegre is a multi-dwelling building in the neighbourhood of Vila de Gràcia, Barcelona.
The building occupies one hundred percent of the longitudinal plot (30x6m) completing one side of a block in calle Ca L’Alegre de Dalt, between Balcells and Passeig D’Amunt. It offers 900m2 of floorspace divided into a basement and four floors.
The elevation of the building over Ca L’Alegre is structured into a main ground floor volume plus two storeys and an attic that seeks to trick the human eye and reduce the building’s physical appearance by separating it off from the main volume, thereby meeting urban development regulations on height in the area.
The floor plan is devised around a central vertical communication hub with two dwellings per landing. It comprises a total of seven dwellings that are distributed on the ground floor plus two storeys in Calle Balcells and ground floor plus three storeys in Calle Amunt.
Opposite the plot is Casa Gustà, a modernist property from the early 1900s that marks the boundary with a protected environment.
The building blends into its modernist environment by reinterpreting the composition of neighbouring façades to establish a timeless dialogue between two pieces as the building splits into three parts. A plinth that meets the ground, a main body with groups of spaces and eaves that finish off the building.
The plinth or base of the building, formed by rows of exposed brick, seeks to connect with neighbouring properties and blur the topographical difference between the two streets, as it is broken at several heights. The main body, in rough-textured beige, groups its openings into framed smooth sections that break up the weighty image of a unitary volume. Over it, the eaves form a light, timeless, classic pavilion, placed on the actual building, thereby distracting from the accentuated height of the building.
Reinterpreting folding shutters brings out the wood on the façade, providing a warm tone to the building and filtering the light inside the dwelling. In this way, each user can customise how much light and privacy they want.
The proportion of its spaces and grouping of windows into frames create a set of contrasts against the hefty aspect of the building and its apparently disorganised composition gives it certain urban continuity.
Inside, the storeys are organised through a gallery parallel to the façade that narrows and widens according to the project’s needs, thereby blurring the image of the lengthened storey.
Avoiding historicist language, the project favours restrained, timeless construction by means of a volume that blends into its surroundings thanks to its neutral choice of materials and its contemporary compositional language.
More information
Project team
Rodrigo Alvarez Acosta, Ania Moreno Azor, Naiara Illanes.
Area
875 sqm.
Dates
2021.
Location
Barcelona, Spain.
Photography
Victor Bergnes de las Casas Gabarró. Bergnes de las Casas
Bergnes de las Casas is a youthful architecture and interior design studio, located in Barcelona, which works on both disciplines in parallel, demonstrating equal interest in each project.
Architect Victor Bergnes de las Casas Gabarró (1987) began his career as an architect in a Dutch studio while studying architecture at EsArq, from which he graduated with honors in 2010. He settled in Barcelona and founded Bergnes de las Casas, intending to create an honest and serene architecture.
The studio prioritises simple, timeless practice. It stands out for the particular attention it gives to proportion, materiality and light, thanks to essential experience and its Mediterranean culture, which gives its work a warmth of its own.
Loyal to its Mediterranean roots, it pays tribute to its architectural legacy, adding references from Japanese and Nordic architecture, both examples of simple, timeless, high quality practice. Through top quality materials, great concern for the project site on the ground and respecting the location’s traditions whilst tending to the user experience, it creates architecture that not only respects the surrounding area but also strengthens it.
The feeling of timelessness gives it the feeling of permanence that is essential for all good architecture. Consequently, the studio backs clear, serene lines that manage to control the volume, proportion, geometry, sequences and the composition of a project, resulting in a harmonious and balanced whole.
Architect Victor Bergnes de las Casas Gabarró (1987) began his career as an architect in a Dutch studio while studying architecture at EsArq, from which he graduated with honors in 2010. He settled in Barcelona and founded Bergnes de las Casas, intending to create an honest and serene architecture.
The studio prioritises simple, timeless practice. It stands out for the particular attention it gives to proportion, materiality and light, thanks to essential experience and its Mediterranean culture, which gives its work a warmth of its own.
Loyal to its Mediterranean roots, it pays tribute to its architectural legacy, adding references from Japanese and Nordic architecture, both examples of simple, timeless, high quality practice. Through top quality materials, great concern for the project site on the ground and respecting the location’s traditions whilst tending to the user experience, it creates architecture that not only respects the surrounding area but also strengthens it.
The feeling of timelessness gives it the feeling of permanence that is essential for all good architecture. Consequently, the studio backs clear, serene lines that manage to control the volume, proportion, geometry, sequences and the composition of a project, resulting in a harmonious and balanced whole.
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