MARTI JULIA
This project involves the comprehensive rehabilitation of a corner building in L’Hospitalet de Llobregat, transforming it into a contemporary apart-hotel while redefining its spatial quality, material expression, and urban identity.
The intervention is based on a deliberate contrast between the existing structure and new architectural insertions. Traces of the demolished building — exposed concrete slabs, structural walls, and irregular surfaces — are preserved and remain visible in selected interiors. These elements coexist with new, precise components, producing an atmosphere where memory and transformation are legible rather than concealed.
A coherent chromatic strategy organizes the entire project. The use of an intense yellow extends across façades, balconies, railings, shutters, carpentry, and interior accents. This colour becomes both an identity marker and a spatial tool: it strengthens orientation, reinforces continuity between exterior and interior, and gives the building a distinctive presence within the neighbourhood.
On the exterior, the project redefines the building’s image through the design of continuous balconies with custom metal railings. Their slightly undulating geometry softens the rigidity of the structure and generates a dynamic rhythm across the façade. The repetition of yellow shutters and railings produces a vibrant yet controlled composition, transforming the corner building into a recognizable urban reference.
The roof level is conceived as a collective terrace, enclosed by a white parapet punctured with circular openings. These perforations frame views of the surrounding city while allowing light and ventilation to pass through. The interior yellow finish of each opening reinforces the project’s chromatic continuity and creates a subtle architectural element visible from both inside and outside.
Interior spaces are designed with a restrained, robust palette. Living areas combine white surfaces, exposed concrete ceilings, and timber flooring to create calm, durable environments. Kitchens are compact and efficient, integrated into the main space through precise joinery and ceramic-tiled backsplashes in strong, saturated colours — yellow and deep green — extending the project’s graphic language into the domestic scale.
Bathrooms are treated as small architectural rooms rather than purely technical spaces. Fully tiled in monochrome colours, they incorporate round mirrors, lightweight steel washbasins, and walk-in showers. The repetition of circular motifs subtly echoes the roof openings and reinforces formal consistency throughout the building.
Circulation spaces, particularly the staircases, are conceived as central architectural elements. The combination of exposed concrete and fine yellow metalwork creates a sculptural vertical sequence that structures movement while maintaining visual continuity between levels.
At street level, the intervention strengthens the relationship between building and public space. The continuous yellow ceramic base, the vertical rhythm of openings, and the careful resolution of the corner condition contribute to a more active and legible urban frontage.
The project demonstrates how a precise and economical rehabilitation can generate a strong architectural identity through consistency of concept, disciplined use of colour, and careful attention to detail, transforming an existing building into a coherent, contemporary place for collective living.
