New in timber versus existing in white. 95PLA Renovation of a row house in Terrassa by Vallribera Arquitectes

29/06/2020. [Terrassa] Spain
metalocus, MARYAN RODRÍGUEZ BUERGO
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Architecture firm Vallribera Arquitectes based in Sabadell has designed the 95 PLA reform and expansion of a house between party walls in the center of Terrassa for a family of four with the essential requirements of fitting a parking space.

Terrassa is a Spanish city and municipality in the province of Barcelona. Its urban planning is characterized by having numerous narrow and long plots. This means that most homes are located between party walls and natural light only comes from the front and rear facades and from the roof. So it is a great challenge to overcome.
95PLA Renovation and expansion of a row house in the center of Terrassa by Vallribera Arquitectes. Photograph by José Hevia
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Vallribera Arquitectes has opted to keep the existing elements in good condition without any type of covering, only painted white to make them contrast with the new added parts of wood. These new parts are about the staircase, the volume that expands the house to the patio and the attic in the central part of the roof.

For the distribution of the house they have designed a continuous succession of chained rooms. On the ground floor there is the main access and the garage, then there is the entrance hall that gives access to the staircase and the kitchen-dining room. On the first floor, facing the entrance façade, is the main bedroom, separated from the children's room and the games room by a bathroom module and the staircase structure. On the upper floor is the attic.

They study how to get an energy rehabilitation in turn, to give their customers something more than requested.
 

Description of project by Vallribera Arquitectes

Another row house, another four-person family, another set of parents, and another two children. Another challenge to take on.

The design deals with an issue that is characteristic of this kind of project: is it better to refurbish the original building or tear it down and build something new? In this case, the answer is unclear. On the one hand, the structure at the back of the house has been damaged due to a lack of maintenance on the roof. The stairwell also needs to be torn out to make room for a parking area (one of the client’s non-negotiable requests). That requires a rather large surface area of new construction. On the other hand, the original building has the charm of a 100-year-old house, and the rest of the structure and building envelope can be kept and refurbished.

The design strategy responds to the state of the building, which we have just described. All the existing elements that can be conserved are left unclad and painted. All the new construction – the stairwell structure, the extension into the back yard, and the new loft space which takes advantage of the height at the middle of the pitched roof – is done in large-format cross-laminated timber (CLT) panels. These panels are left untreated. As a result, the new wooden elements – of a single color, unpainted and continuous – contrast with the older elements (beams, tiles, brick, and plaster), which are varied, irregular, and painted white.

The living spaces are distributed into a continuous alternating series of old-white and new-wood. On the ground floor, an entryway with a vestibule and a storage loft on top leads into the garage. The foyer, a guest bathroom, and the stairway act as a buffer for the kitchen-dining room. The living room connects the kitchen to the back yard. The yard is divided into a terrace, a garden, and a paved area. On the second floor, the main bedroom facing the street is separated from the stairway by a vertical service core where the bathrooms are located. From the stairway, the study can be closed off or open to the children’s bedroom, the playroom with storage closets, and the terrace. The staircase continues up to the loft, a single open space that looks out over the study.

The construction solutions for the newly built area (façade and roof) resolve insulation issues and prevent thermal bridging. The new façade and the exposed party walls are covered with insulation on the exterior and then rendered (exterior thermal insulation system). Extruded polystyrene (XPS) is installed in both the new and existing roofs. The façade facing the street is insulated from the inside using drywall paneling and mineral wool. The existing floor slab is reinforced, to cut down on vibration, with a new layer of polished concrete which also serves as the pavement. All the windows are switched out, and new adjustable shades are added to control sun exposure. The energy renovation of the house and other features is achieved. 

We feel we have lived up to the challenge inasmuch as we have addressed the clients’ issues while offering something extra.

95PLA Renovation and expansion of a row house in the center of Terrassa by Vallribera Arquitectes. Photograph by José Hevia
95PLA Renovation and expansion of a row house in the center of Terrassa by Vallribera Arquitectes. Photograph by José Hevia 95PLA Renovation and expansion of a row house in the center of Terrassa by Vallribera Arquitectes. Photograph by José Hevia
95PLA Renovation and expansion of a row house in the center of Terrassa by Vallribera Arquitectes. Photograph by José Hevia
95PLA Renovation and expansion of a row house in the center of Terrassa by Vallribera Arquitectes. Photograph by José Hevia
95PLA Renovation and expansion of a row house in the center of Terrassa by Vallribera Arquitectes. Photograph by José Hevia
95PLA Renovation and expansion of a row house in the center of Terrassa by Vallribera Arquitectes. Photograph by José Hevia
95PLA Renovation and expansion of a row house in the center of Terrassa by Vallribera Arquitectes. Photograph by José Hevia
95PLA Renovation and expansion of a row house in the center of Terrassa by Vallribera Arquitectes. Photograph by José Hevia
95PLA Renovation and expansion of a row house in the center of Terrassa by Vallribera Arquitectes. Photograph by José Hevia
95PLA Renovation and expansion of a row house in the center of Terrassa by Vallribera Arquitectes. Photograph by José Hevia
95PLA Renovation and expansion of a row house in the center of Terrassa by Vallribera Arquitectes. Photograph by José Hevia
95PLA Renovation and expansion of a row house in the center of Terrassa by Vallribera Arquitectes. Photograph by José Hevia
95PLA Renovation and expansion of a row house in the center of Terrassa by Vallribera Arquitectes. Photograph by José Hevia
95PLA Renovation and expansion of a row house in the center of Terrassa by Vallribera Arquitectes. Photograph by José Hevia
95PLA Renovation and expansion of a row house in the center of Terrassa by Vallribera Arquitectes. Photograph by José Hevia
95PLA Renovation and expansion of a row house in the center of Terrassa by Vallribera Arquitectes. Photograph by José Hevia
95PLA Renovation and expansion of a row house in the center of Terrassa by Vallribera Arquitectes. Photograph by José Hevia
95PLA Renovation and expansion of a row house in the center of Terrassa by Vallribera Arquitectes. Photograph by José Hevia
95PLA Renovation and expansion of a row house in the center of Terrassa by Vallribera Arquitectes. Photograph by José Hevia
95PLA Renovation and expansion of a row house in the center of Terrassa by Vallribera Arquitectes. Photograph by José Hevia
95PLA Renovation and expansion of a row house in the center of Terrassa by Vallribera Arquitectes. Photograph by José Hevia
95PLA Renovation and expansion of a row house in the center of Terrassa by Vallribera Arquitectes. Photograph by José Hevia
Site plan. 95PLA Renovation and expansion of a row house in the center of Terrassa by Vallribera Arquitectes.
Floor plans. 95PLA Renovation and expansion of a row house in the center of Terrassa by Vallribera Arquitectes.
Section. 95PLA Renovation and expansion of a row house in the center of Terrassa by Vallribera Arquitectes.
Wood structure. 95PLA Renovation and expansion of a row house in the center of Terrassa by Vallribera Arquitectes.
Conical perspective, section. 95PLA Renovation and expansion of a row house in the center of Terrassa by Vallribera Arquitectes.
Model. 95PLA Renovation and expansion of a row house in the center of Terrassa by Vallribera Arquitectes.
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More information

Architects
Vallribera Arquitectes. Llorenç Vallribera y Aleix Gil.
Collaborators
Architect.- Sergi Ballester. Quantity surveying.- Montserrat Llobet. Structural consulting.- Míriam Molina.
Area
162 m².
Dates
Design date.- 2018. Construction date.- 2018-2019.
Energy consumption
48.08 KWh/m² per year.
CO2 emissions
10.39 KgCO2/m² per year.
EPC rating
A.
Photography
José Hevia.

Llorenç Vallribera, Aleix Gil. Vallribera Arquitectes

Vallribera Arquitectes is an architecture firm sit in Sabadell. The founding partner is Llorenç Vallribera Farriol. It was estableshed in 2012 and in 2019 Aleix Gil Noray joined as a partner. They focus on the design of both reforms and new works of isolated houses and between party walls. Its objective is to provide each project with beauty and comfort. The success of his trade is the use of energy efficiency, custom design, optimization and cost control as fundamental tools.

They were selected in the Transition category of IX edition of the 2016 Rosa Barba International Paisatge Award, they won the X NAN Architecture and Construction Awards 2016 in the residential construction category and the BUILD Architecture Awards 2018 by Best Residential Architecture Company - Barcelona Most Efficient & Customized Interior Design Company.

Llorenç Vallribera is an architect and founding partner at Vallribera Arquitectes. Handball, music and drawing are the hobbies that take his mind off architecture and design.

Llorenç earned his degree in architecture from the Vallès School of Architecture (ETSAV, 1995-2003). In 2000, he was awarded an Erasmus scholarship from the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC) to study at the Helsinki University of Technology (HUT).

From 2000 to 2008 he was a collaborator with different architecture studios, including Espinet Ubach Arquitectes, ONL Arquitectura, and TAC Arquitectes. In 2006, he began developing his own designs, and in 2012 he founded Vallribera Arquitectes.

If he had to choose just one hobby, it would come down to music or handball. Years of training and playing the drums have taught him that learning takes hours of practice and dedication. But what would practice be without the excitement of a concert, and what would training be without the challenge of a game?

Llorenç is detail oriented and a perfectionist. When it comes to his work, he likes things to be resolved and well done. He knows that achieving success takes a mixture of audacity, humility, perseverance and talent. He believes that, in architecture, like when a concert goes well or when you win game, all the effort is worth it when it makes life better in the environments we build.

Aleix Gil is an architect and partner at Vallribera Arquitectes, he loves the mountains and climbing; he is an all-around mountaineer.

Aleix earned his degree in architecture from the Vallès School of Architecture (ETSAV, 2005-2012). In 2009 he was awarded an Erasmus scholarship from the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC) to study at the Budapest University of Technology and Economics (BME).

In 2012, he began working at Vallribera Arquitectes, and through 2014 he also collaborated with MVA Arquitectura i Estructura. In 2015, he put all his efforts into becoming a Lead Designer at Vallribera Arquitectes. Four years later, in 2019, he became a partner at the firm.

Aleix’s first passion is clear: architecture. The second is also clear: the mountains. He likes climbing, downhill skiing, and mountaineering  – activities that have taken him many places, although if you ask him, no doubt he will tell you that his favorite place is Montserrat.

Aleix is a warm, friendly and easygoing person, who only speaks when it is truly necessary. His love for nature and his commitment in the face of a challenge show through in his work, his passions, and how he approaches life every day.
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