Pineda Monedero + Jaime Prous Architects address the contemporary need for adaptation and transformation, inspired by tradition, which they innovatively materialize in a mechanized solution to protect and regulate solar radiation using a series of blinds that slide through curved guides that close the roof in a single shaded space.
The solution responds to the client's needs, a digital nomad who requires a versatile workspace to be used seasonally, especially during the summer, when it is essential to have an outdoor space that complements the limited interior space and where more activities can be carried out.
018 Capsule by Pineda Monedero + Jaime Prous Architects. Photograph by Borja Ballbé.
Project description by Pineda Monedero + Jaime Prous Architects
Summer capsule for a digital nomad
In a rooftop on the Barceloneta neighborhood is located a 20 sqm substandard housing with a terrace twice the size of the interior. Its new owner reflects the changes of gentrification and globalisation of Barcelona: he is a digital nomad and will only use the house for seasonal stays, mainly in summer.
Adapting this former badalot into a home requires insulating and protecting from the sun radiation. We propose a made-to-measure, light and mechanised device that, like a machine, regulates the sun. Ten wooden blinds, the same as those that have been used for centuries, are placed on rollers on the roof. They slide along guides and close the house into a single shed, transforming the terraces into pergolas.
The references are obvious and draw from the nearby Umbracle designed in 1883 by Josep Fontseré in the Ciutadella park, but also from the technological fantasies proposed by Archigram in the 1960s. All of this to confront a very contemporary reality, which is the need to adapt to the climate crisis the planet is suffering.
