Growing esgrafiats. The project begins with a modest 19th-century building in Barcelona, originally constructed as a low-cost three-storey structure with a narrow, impractical staircase that made any interior refurbishment nearly impossible. A detailed study of the existing fabric revealed the potential to grow vertically, adding three new levels above the original volume. This strategic expansion not only increased the residential capacity of the building but also made it possible to reconfigure the circulation core entirely, replacing the obsolete stair with a new, accessible, and generously lit vertical connection that serves all dwellings.

The new height and compact proportions of the building called for an urban façade capable of simultaneously integrating into and refreshing its heterogeneous context. The design adopts a contemporary interpretation of the traditional esgrafiat technique, historically used throughout Barcelona to animate façades with layered stucco ornamentation. Instead of floral or geometric motifs, the façade is dressed in a field of linear strokes applied over a soft blue background, creating a texture that is both playful and precise. This patterned skin lends the building a distinct yet culturally rooted identity, operating somewhere between ornament, surface movement, and urban camouflage. The openings are tall, narrow, and rhythmically placed, balancing the façade’s graphic intensity with a quiet vertical order. Their timber frames bring warmth to the exterior composition and resonate with the interior material palette. Inside, the newly created dwellings are organized around a circulatory ring that introduces a subtle spatial complexity into otherwise compact plans, offering fluid movement, cross-ventilation, and multiple orientations towards the street and inner courtyard. Large windows extend the interior spaces outward, connecting the dwellings with the canopy of the surrounding trees and bringing natural light deep into the rooms.

Materially, the interiors are defined by clarity and durability: continuous ceramic flooring, white plastered walls, and timber joinery create a calm backdrop for everyday life. The new staircase—executed in terrazzo with slender white steel railings, acts as a refined vertical gallery, its lightness in contrast with the robust structural interventions required to support the additional storeys.

Overall, the project merges architectural growth with urban craftsmanship. By adding new levels, rethinking circulation, and wrapping the building in a contemporary esgrafiat, the intervention transforms a once-overlooked structure into a renewed urban presence, one that respects local traditions while asserting a distinctly contemporary attitude.