(The apartment is located in Gracia, a unique little neighbourhood of Barcelona (Spain), filled with narrow streets
WOW Design’s small format tiles have been used as continuous flooring, unifying the whole home and lending it a more spacious feel
A project with a delicate touch by Parramon + Tahull architects
Home refurbishment project. Gracia neighbourhood, Barcelona (Spain) – June 2022
Architects: Parramon + Tahull arquitectes
Photos: Judith Casas Sayós
Net floor area: 70 m2. Barcelona
Tiles: WOW Design (Bejmat collection)
This apartment, on the top floor of a building dating back to the 1900s, in the heart of Barcelona’s unique Gracia neighbourhood (Spain), was recently refurbished by architects’ studio Parramon + Tahull, specialists in signature design. For all the floors throughout the home, tiles with a continuous appearance by tile design studio WOW Design were chosen.
This high-up apartment has three well-oriented façades and so the design team changed the layout completely so that all the different rooms would have plenty of natural light.
To unify the living spaces, without distinguishing them according to their different uses, a decision was taken to use the same continuous flooring throughout. Ceramic tiles were chosen, mainly due to their high-performance properties and authentic appeal. In this case, small-format tiles, WOW Design’s specialist field, were used to conjure up the sensation of a continuous mantle.
By combining white and terracotta-coloured tiles of different formats, textures and shines, a vibrant mesh-like pattern was achieved which enters into dialogue with all the other materials (wood, marble, plaster), contrasting with them and adding just the right touch of warmth. The small format of the tiles brings a more spacious feel to these smallish living spaces.
Tiles from the Bejmat collection were chosen by the design team due to the potential that these high-quality tiles, with a delicate texture and colour, offer to create combinations of different formats, colours, textures and shines. The layout of the tiles and the tile joint between them was planned on a real scale to avoid repeated symmetrical rows, and tests with grout of different colours were conducted on site.
The white tile joint emphasizes the horizontal rows while also marking out each of the terracotta-coloured tiles. In contrast, the bathroom walls were clad in the same white tiles as the floors, but with a reddish tile joint.
Tiles were also used for the original floors
By way of a charming anecdote, when different layers of previous flooring were being removed during the refurbishment work, a lower original floor was discovered made of hollow floor bricks. Hence, with the new flooring, it might be said that the design team has paid tribute to part of the apartment’s original history.
The apartment fits in with the traditional architecture of this Barcelona’s neighbourhood, and the architects skilfully reflect the essence of its local architecture by using authentic, traditional materials like WOW’s tiles.
Gracia is a small neighbourhood filled with narrow streets that nestles between Barcelona’s more cosmopolitan areas and other parts of the big city. Thanks to the vibrant atmosphere of its streets, crammed with bars, restaurants and shops, this one of the most popular parts of the city. On top of all this, it also contains Güell Park: one of the most widely admired works by famous architect and artist Antonio Gaudí.
The Bejmat collection, uniting tradition with modernity
BEJMAT pays tribute to traditional Moorish-influenced tiles. It was in the 14th century that, in addition to traditional combinations of white and terracotta-coloured tiles like the ones in this apartment, a variety of other colours were developed. WOW offers a new revamped version of these traditional tiles in 9 different colours and 6 décors, available in a rectangular 5x15cm format or a square 15x15cm one.
Architecture in keeping with the local backdrop
Lluís Parramon and Emma Tahull founded their architects’ studio in 1997. This small studio aspires to offer harmonious respectful solutions, with a sensitivity to the existing setting and any pre-existing ones. Through a combination of technology and skilful design, the studio seeks to create architecture with the emphasis on comfort and energy efficiency, within the physical and technological possibilities of each individual project.
