Vallirana 47 is a quite anonymous and discreet building, designed by vora and located in Barcelona.

The work consists of the refurbishment of 5 of the 6 dwellings in the building, and the common spaces. According to its authors, its value doesn’t lie within any singular identity, but in the sense of continuity of an epoch.

Aroused by the way of thinking of the client, vora brought the project to a high level of hybridisation between the new and the old, which they had never achieved before.

Pontejos (conservation and preservation) is an architectural promoter that focuses on high-quality refurbishments.

"We worked with the identity of the building in a way that is both continuous and disruptive, with a respectful and at the same time playful attitude”

The new spatial arrangement is superimposed to the existing one in an expressive way, through friction and displacement.

Pavements and ceilings incorporate the order and hierarchy of the original spaces, while the partitions express, at the same time, part of this memory, as well as the transformations made.

The new material additions hybridise with the pre-existing in its detailing and ornament.

Many materials and elements of the building were reused, which maintain the atmospheric continuity.

Everything that was added, links with this continuity, from the most tactile aspects Tto the most abstract ones.

Glazed tiles, application of graphic patterns extracted from the building's grids, wallpapers, etc.

In this sensory approach, also incorporated was the stratification of qualities that characterised residential buildings of that time, specifically in the detail of some coatings and elements.

The architects built a density of layers of perception and information in the interiors, which provides complexity and vibration.

“In fact, we are a little ‘tired’ of the strategies of contrast between new and old” they recount.

Meaningful vibration, generating visual comfort, deliberately away from smooth and anonymous surfaces.

“So the future tenants will feel at home from the very first day”