The name is not incidental. Chambacú was a historic neighborhood in Cartagena de Indias, a symbol of resistance, cultural mixture and social resilience. The restaurant adopts this reference as its conceptual point of departure. The interior design, developed by Rosa Colet, translates that memory into space. The designer approaches the project convinced that the gastronomic experience begins before the first dish arrives. The journey unfolds through three differentiated realms —El Patio, Candela and Memoria— functioning as chapters in a spatial and symbolic sequence.

El Patio: Caribbean exuberance

Access takes place through El Patio, a vibrant space that acts as both threshold and meeting point. The Caribbean reference materializes in the presence of vegetation, in the texture of the weathered wooden door and in the reinterpretation of the traditional Colombian window. The aim is to generate an immediate and welcoming atmosphere. Light, warm tones and natural materiality construct a transitional environment that invites enjoyment. From the outset, the design establishes a bond between origin and contemporaneity.

Candela: encounter and cocktails

The route leads to Candela, a zone conceived for informal gathering, cocktails and a flexible gastronomic offering. Here, the language becomes more dynamic. Zigzagging walls clad in recycled wooden pieces filter light and generate depth. The reference recalls the spontaneous constructions of the former Chambacú neighborhood, where homes were erected from fragments of wood and sheet metal. Memory is reinterpreted through a technical solution that transforms recycling into an expressive resource.

Lighting, handwoven by master artisan Philip, incorporates African lamps that reinforce the project’s mestizo dimension. Suspended natural fibers add texture and shadow, modulating the nocturnal experience.

The graphic voice of La Linterna

Between Candela and Memoria appears an exhibition space dedicated to La Linterna, the historic typographic print workshop in Cali that has turned the Colombian popular poster into cultural heritage. Its handcrafted posters, vibrant in color and direct in graphic language, act as a narrative device, embedding context within the spatial journey. Visitors traverse a graphic memory that connects popular tradition and contemporaneity, preparing the transition toward the restaurant’s most introspective setting.

Memoria: the contemporary rite

The sequence culminates in Memoria, the dining room dedicated to the tasting menu. Here, the atmosphere transforms. Calm prevails, light becomes subdued and the ambience grows concentrated. Two large-scale murals by the artist Ivanna Gautier preside over the space: an Indigenous figure and a palenquera, symbolic presences of belonging and origin. Color and scale introduce the ritual dimension that accompanies the rhythm of gastronomic service.

The African lamps woven by Philip reappear, reinforcing material and cultural coherence. The space suggests solemnity through proportion, lighting and chromatic restraint.

Materiality and craftsmanship as strategy

Rosa Colet’s intervention rests on a palette of earthy tones, beiges and energetic chromatic accents that converse with the culinary proposal. The selection of materials responds to a logic of honesty and natural origin: charred wood, vegetal fibers, cane and author ceramics.

Collaboration with Rústic Ceràmica has enabled the development of bespoke pieces —plates, bowls, vases, cutlery supports and lamps— integrated into the overall concept. Tableware forms part of the spatial narrative. Each element reinforces the diner’s tactile and visual experience.

All furniture has been designed specifically for the project and executed through artisanal processes. This decision responds to the developed design concept, with the intention of constructing coherence between cultural discourse and material production.

Gastronomy and interior design: an indivisible experience

Santiago Sánchez Arango’s gastronomic proposal explores Latin American mestizaje through contemporary technique. Native ingredients, reinterpretations of traditional recipes and a current reading of Colombian cuisine unfold in menus that dialogue with the space.

Rosa Colet’s interior design structures the experience of those who share the chef’s proposal. The route, the gradation of light and the transition between atmospheres modulate the diners’ time. Interior architecture and cuisine share a single objective: to transform memory into present experience.

A project with identity in a competitive context

Located in one of Barcelona’s most consolidated gastronomic areas, Chambacú embraces the challenge through cultural and conceptual differentiation. In contrast to proposals competing for immediate impact, the restaurant commits to narrative coherence and identity depth.

In this project, design, gastronomy and history integrate with notable precision. The result is a space where every decision —material, graphic, artistic or luminous— responds to a shared logic. Chambacú does not merely recreate a past; it translates it into a contemporary and emotional experience. Therein lies its singularity.

Project: Restaurante Chambacú.
Location: Muntaner, 185. Barcelona
Author: Rosa Colet.
Creative direction: Rosa Colet.
Client: Santiago Sánchez Arango.
Completion: Setiembre 2025
Site coordinator: Marisa Amorós
Carpentry: Fusteria Miquel.
Lighting: Gaudir Girona.
Photography: Vicenç Prat.
Kitchen equipment: Complet Hotel.
Ceramist: Rut Oliver Valls Rustic.
Textiles: Casamance, Naturtex.
Flowers and plants: Bossvi Deco.
Furniture: Casual Solutions.
Upholstery: Lucky Mora Studio.
Natural fibers: Mas Valls.
Wall coverings: Texdecor.

Rosa Colet

Rosa Colet (Barcelona) is an interior designer and founder of Rosa Colet Strategies in Interior Design, a studio she has led since 2011 following an extensive professional trajectory within established firms in the sector. With more than three decades of experience, her practice has become particularly consolidated in the hospitality and restaurant fields, while also encompassing office environments and private residences.

Educated at the Escola d’Art i Superior de Disseny Pau Gargallo, where she earned her Degree in Interior Design (1987–1991), Rosa Colet belongs to a generation of professionals who understand interior design as a strategic tool capable of transforming user experience while advancing her clients’ business objectives. This vision — combining spatial sensitivity with analytical insight — defines the identity of her studio today.

Her work consistently begins with careful observation of context and client goals. Each project is conceived as a system in which concept, functionality and technical feasibility must progress in coordination. The intervention does not merely resolve an image; it constructs a coherent narrative that unfolds through spatial sequences, material selection, the relationship between furniture and architecture and, above all, the user experience.

Within the fields of gastronomy and hospitality, her approach demonstrates how design can become an active business asset. A recent example is her involvement in redefining the gastronomic model of Chambacú, the Barcelona-based restaurant by Colombian chef Santiago Sánchez Arango, where interior design moves beyond backdrop to integrate with the culinary proposal, shaping a comprehensive experience. The space structures the encounter.

From the studio, each intervention develops through a conscious balance between concept and execution. Behind every formal decision lies a technical and strategic rationale. Constructive detailing, site coordination and creative direction form part of a continuous process that Rosa Colet leads with a committed and precise gaze.

A common thread runs through her practice: approaching every project as if it were her own, building relationships grounded in trust and placing the user consistently at the centre. In this combination of professional rigour and attention to everyday use lies the consistency of a trajectory that has evolved without losing clarity of purpose.

The project, created for a family with a young daughter, is anchored in noble materials, iconic pieces and a chromatic palette that breathes serenity: beige, camel, earth and white. The residence regains its stately essence, yet with a lighter spirit, conceived for everyday enjoyment.

The entrance hall, dominated by a large mirror framed in metal and a velvet pouf, sets the tone for the entire home: luminous, serene and sophisticated. From there, the day area unfolds, where two generous living rooms connect through white sliding doors and curtains that evoke a renewed classicism.

In the first living room, designed for receiving guests, a green Chesterfield sofa by Ojinaga stands out, alongside Roche Bobois’ column bar designed by Sacha Lakic. The adjoining family living room offers a more intimate atmosphere: a fireplace, an L-shaped sofa by Molteni in neutral tones, and the iconic Barcelona chair by Mies van der Rohe, complemented by a painting by Riera i Aragó.

The dining room preserves the stately spirit with grey walls framed by white moldings. A pair of works by Claudia Valsells adds a vibrant touch of color. In the square-plan kitchen, a central island organizes the space, while a deep blue corner welcomes family breakfasts with freshness and warmth.

The night area reinforces the project’s livable character. The master suite incorporates a walk-in closet lined with mirrors and a central console in dark wood, along with a bathroom featuring a freestanding bathtub. The children’s room combines white with blue and pink accents, and includes its own walk-in closet and bathroom. Two additional suites welcome guests with the same level of comfort.

Contemporary elegance with classical roots

“We wanted the house to preserve its stately essence while, at the same time, feeling lived-in and approachable,” explains Ingrid Matheu. The challenge was to lighten overly ornate spaces and breathe new life into them with lime plaster, wood, design pieces and a warm chromatic language.

The result is a sophisticated yet approachable home, where the noble character of its original architecture coexists with a contemporary and timeless design. A residence that breathes elegance, but also everyday life: spaces that open up to the family, to encounters, and to the passage of time.

Furnishings

Green sofa: Ojinaga. Beige sofa: Molteni. Armchair: Barcelona Chair by Mies van der Rohe. TV cabinet/coffee table: Molteni. Bar unit: Roche Bobois. Lighting: Marset. Textiles/rugs: Ingrid Matheu Studio. Art: Claudia Valsells painting (dining room) and Riera i Aragó (fireplace). Dining furniture: Cattelan Italia. Kitchen: Siematic.

Project: Barcelona zona alta.
Interior design: Ingrid Matheu Studio.
Photography: David Querolt.
Art: Claudia Valsells, Riera i Aragó.
Source: Ingrid Matheu Studio. Boutique de Comunicación.

Ingrid Matheu

Trained in Interior Design at the Elisava School in Barcelona (1998–2001), Ingrid Matheu knew from a very early stage that her profession would be much more than a job: it would become a way of understanding life, of inhabiting time and place.

In 2008 she founded Ingrid Matheu Studio, a creative workshop where interior design, decoration and comprehensive renovations intertwine. Since then, each project has become an exercise in attentive listening and empathy, where aesthetics accompanies and reveals the personality of those who inhabit the space. Wood, stone, natural textiles and light are her allies; atmosphere, her true work.

Based in Barcelona, the studio works across different fields—residential, office, retail and hospitality—always guided by the same thread: the creation of functional and poetic environments, sustainable and enduring. The practice spans from the conception of the design to the execution of the work and the “turnkey” service, with close supervision that turns the process into a shared experience.

At the same time, Ingrid Matheu has brought to life her Concept Store on Muntaner Street in Barcelona, a space that serves as showcase, laboratory and meeting point. There, furniture, lighting, textiles and decorative objects unfold like domestic scenes, inviting visitors to imagine future homes, to touch and feel before deciding.

The aesthetic of her studio is rooted in Mediterranean clarity: open and luminous spaces, soft palettes that convey calm, subtle contrasts that spark vitality, and furniture either selected from unique pieces or custom made.

The living room and dining room form one continuous area, with large windows filtering light onto a seamless microcement floor. Furniture with pure lines and soft tones coexists with walnut paneling that brings warmth and visually organizes the space. In Andrea’s words: “We wanted the house to convey serenity without becoming neutral. Walnut introduces a warm pulse that humanizes the space.”

The kitchen integrates into this daytime zone with an open character, yet defined by clear and practical volumes, with a central island that structures daily life. Light finishes combined with wood touches ensure continuity with the rest of the project.

The protagonist of color

Without a doubt, the true protagonist of the project is the study with its intense green hue. A space designed for working, reading, or meditating, it responds to new ways of living, where the home is also an office, workshop, and place of creation.

Beyond the sum of its rooms, this project builds a global atmosphere: serene, balanced, and attentive to every detail. Materials—microcement, walnut, brass, natural textiles—are combined with light and color to create an experience that accompanies daily life.

Project: NV20.
Location: Barcelona.
Area: 150 m².
Completed: 2024.
Interior design: A Studio. Andrea Arqués.
Photography: Claudia Mauriño.

Andrea Arqués

Andrea Arqués is an architect and interior designer. Trained at ETSALS in Barcelona, she began her career in renowned studios such as Jean Nouvel in Barcelona and GCA in Shanghai. Back in Barcelona, she collaborated with WIT Architects and Katty Schiebeck, where she deepened her interest in detail and interior design. In 2020 she founded her own practice, A Studio, with the aim of bringing the professionalism of large firms to a client-centered approach throughout all stages of design.

Arqués works with the conviction that spaces are not mere containers, but living organisms that shape the emotional lives of those who inhabit them. Her practice rests on two essential pillars: geometry as the invisible structure that orders, and materiality as the language that surrounds and communicates. Every form, every color and every texture has a direct impact on people, and in that interaction lies the meaning of her architecture.

At A Studio, the goal is to build in a harmonious and sustainable way, creating atmospheres that convey well-being. The design process is conceived as a journey from emotions to personal space. For Andrea, what matters is not only the final image of a home, but also the proportions that define voids and solids, giving each space its own vibratory code. A Studio specializes in residential projects, offices, and new builds.

Alongside her professional practice, Andrea has taught at Universitat Ramon Llull, La Salle, leading a course focused on residential architecture and how it evolves over time.

Source: A Estudio. Decomunica Jana Milá.

One of the greatest challenges—and also one of the most successful aspects—was the new inverted distribution, different from the usual approach: the lower floor concentrates the private areas—bedrooms, study, main and guest suites—while the upper floor unfolds as a large social space connected to the terrace and the city views. This inversion allows daily life to revolve around the landscape and natural light, enhancing the experience of inhabiting the space.

The project is conceived as an exercise in spatial clarity and emotional comfort. The helical staircase, designed specifically as a sculptural piece, becomes the symbol of the intervention: an architectural gesture that unites the two levels while expressing the sensitivity of Tinda’s Project. Home automation, underfloor heating, and custom furniture complete an ensemble where design and wellbeing move forward hand in hand.

The material palette—oak stained floors and carpentry, mist-grey walls and doors—defines the duplex’s identity: a sober, elegant language that never abandons warmth. The result is a timeless atmosphere, with the naturalness and approachability that characterize the studio.

Project: Pedralbes.
Interior design: Tinda’s Project. Interior designers: Eva Mesa y Jaime Valdés.
Location: Barcelona.
Surface area: 215 m² + 100 m² de terraza.
Completion: 2024.
Photography: María Pujol.
Styling: Mar Gausachs.

Eva Mesa

From a very young age, Eva Mesa had the gift of transforming spaces: she enjoyed creating places that told stories and revealed personalities. After completing her studies at the UAB and the DIAC in Catalonia, she immersed herself in the family furniture-making business, where she cultivated her passion for functional and sensitive design. Later, together with landscape designer Manuel Maíllo, she founded Tinda’s Project with a clear vision: to turn dreams, passions and ideas into unique spaces, recognizable and full of character.

Eva Mesa leads Tinda’s Project from Barcelona, and her creative approach is based on a simple yet profound philosophy: to design spaces that captivate from the very first moment, that reflect the essence of those who inhabit them, and that work with both meaning and beauty. Her passion for bespoke design—the savoir-faire of tailor-made interiors—has become the studio’s hallmark. For Eva, interior design is not merely about aesthetics; it is a tool to improve life.

In Tinda’s Project’s work, the use of textures is not an added value: it is the voice of the space itself. Eva believes that textures—visual or tactile—are the soul of interior design, capable of infusing a room with warmth and personality. She works with finishes that convey naturalness, flooring that invites touch, textiles that caress, and decorative details that tell stories. Every material is selected with delicacy so that the whole invites one to live it fully.

With more than 25 years in the world of interior design, Eva Mesa has consolidated a style where craftsmanship, sensitivity and authenticity prevail. Her work transcends fleeting trends, rooting itself in the identity of people and the harmony of spaces. Tinda’s Project does not pursue imposing design: it seeks design that embraces, that endures, that inspires, and that makes one feel. 

Source: Tinda’s y ComuniKatemásMedia.

The house does not rest on traditional foundations but rises instead on a minimal system of concrete walls. Like the legs of an animal adapting to the terrain, these structures barely touch the ground, allowing the landscape to continue breathing beneath them. It is a dwelling that adds a new layer without erasing the previous ones—an intervention that blends kindly with its surroundings.

From the upper level, the approach unfolds like the discovery of a well-kept secret. At first glance, the house appears as a hermetic, abstract volume. Only upon descending the cantilevered staircase, suspended on the mountainside, does its true dimension reveal itself. At the large entry terrace, a generous space welcomes visitors through the kitchen and dining area—the social heart of the home—fully open to the valley through four expansive sliding glass doors. The experience is immersive: trees brush against the façade, the horizon stretches unbroken, and nature enters the house uninvited.

Inside, the ground floor is organized around a compact core—staircase, bathroom, pantry—that liberates the perimeter, enabling a continuous flow of spaces: kitchen, living room, and a viewing platform that hovers above the void. A built-in bench runs along the glazed façade, inviting stillness and contemplation. Instead of a formal entrance, the architect proposes a more hospitable gesture: entering directly into the kitchen, where a concrete and ceppo stone island offers a welcome of food, drink, and a view to admire.

A double-height space visually connects the two floors, with a central void where the interior staircase rises to a square tower, rotated 45 degrees. This element crowns the house like a lantern pointed toward the sky, maintaining spatial and visual continuity even through to the rooftop, from which the views are breathtaking.

Upstairs, a central landing links two small balconies that frame the landscape and distributes access to three bedrooms and a bathroom. The primary bedroom includes a dressing area and ensuite bathroom, with sliding doors that allow the space to be reconfigured according to different needs. Even from the shower, the landscape remains ever present, proof that there are no blind corners here: every space is in dialogue with the outdoors.

The golden ratio guides the design of the house in both plan and elevation, bestowing a classical balance that is sensed even if unseen. Three of its façades are contained and precise: openings are carefully measured, sometimes filtered through latticework or recessed like inward balconies. Only the façade facing the valley fully opens up, as if the house itself were breathing in that direction. Even the colour shifts: a luminous yellowish tone on the open side contrasts with the earthen hues of the rest of the volume, creating a visual tension that evokes the meeting of the natural and the built—without losing the house’s identity.

Technically, Casa Magarola is a restrained and efficient feat of engineering. Supported by concrete walls and slender 20 cm slabs, no trace of the structure is visible inside or out. Its energy efficiency is exemplary: radiant underfloor heating throughout, an aerothermal system powered by photovoltaic panels, continuous thermal insulation, natural cross ventilation, a rainwater collection tank, and a careful selection of local and low-impact materials. The respect for the site is radical: all trees were preserved except for two, and the land was barely disturbed.

A final gesture, poetic and telling, completes the entrance sequence: a large local rock, transformed into the first step of the interior staircase, pays homage to Carlo Scarpa. Casa Magarola, beyond being a sensitive work of architecture, is a lesson in how to inhabit without harming the landscape—with exquisite reverence for place.

Project: Casa Magarola.
Location: Sant Cugat del Vallés (Barcelona).
Architecture: Raúl Sánchez.
Architecture team: Paolo Burattini, Flavia Thalisa Gütermann, Dimitris Louizos, Carlos Montes.
Structures: Diagonal Estructuras.
Engineering: Marés Ingenieros.
Technical architect: Gruart.
Photography: José Hevia.
Completion: 2024.
Built area: 175 m².

Raúl Sánchez

The architecture of Raúl Sánchez is not built solely from matter, but also from ideas, emotions, and silences. From his studio in Barcelona, Raúl Sánchez Architects, founded in 2006, he has developed a practice that challenges conventions without disturbing harmony, where each project becomes an opportunity to explore the limits of space, light, and perception.

Trained as an architect at the University of Granada, Sánchez’s career has been marked by a persistent experimental vocation. He does not seek to repeat formulas, but to formulate questions. He is drawn as much to voids as to solids, to unexpected geometries and paths that resist clear definition, and to that subtle line where the technical and the sensory merge. His work speaks through a distinctive language: precise, bold, and profoundly respectful of context.

In each of his projects, whether restorations, single-family homes, ephemeral installations, or interiors with strong narrative intensity, there is a clear intent to transform the everyday into the extraordinary. His approach is deeply conceptual, yet never detached from the physical. For Sánchez, architecture is a spatial experience that must be felt, explored, and lived. And it is in that movement where beauty emerges.

He is currently working in cities such as New York, Munich, Barcelona, and Madrid, and his projects have been widely published and awarded both in Spain and internationally.

Beyond his professional practice, Raúl Sánchez is also deeply engaged in academia. Since 2017, he has been a design studio professor in the Interior Design program at Elisava School of Design and Engineering in Barcelona.

Raúl Sánchez designs with rigor, but also with risk. He believes in architecture as a form of thought, built from measured gestures, intentional voids, and materials that age with dignity. His spaces do not reveal themselves all at once: they invite, suggest, accompany. And in that quiet companionship, those who inhabit them come to discover that living can also be a form of contemplation.

Source: Raúl Sánchez Architects.

Wood, stone and natural light form the pillars of a design where each element is born from the spirit of the place. Cots has developed the interior from the essence of the site itself: the convent’s heritage, its ancient textures, the rhythm of the surrounding landscape. As a result, the organic becomes both language and guiding thread throughout the project.

Curved, fluid forms foster an atmosphere of calm. The walls, which seem to breathe, suggest both movement and stillness. A palette of sandy tones—used in flooring, wall finishes and bespoke furniture—translates the earth’s natural colour into a coherent, enveloping chromatic experience.

Light as architectural gesture

At Les Clarisses, light does more than reveal the space: it transforms it. Daylight pouring in through the hotel’s tall windows informs the lighting scheme, which is further enhanced by indirect architectural lighting designed to encourage rest and introspection. In the restaurant, asymmetrically placed ceramic lamps recall the irregular beauty of nature, while the sand-wave murals—near the fireplace and along the main wall—add a poetic gesture that enriches the architecture.

A dialogue with history

The project integrates original elements from the old convent—such as fountains, stone pillars and vaulted ceilings—with new architectural lines that alternate between geometric clarity and gentle curves. The use of noble materials like natural linen, mortex surfaces, and carved stone enhances the timeless character of the whole.

Beyond design, Susanna Cots offers an experience: one of inhabiting silence, sensing the material world, and letting light reconnect us to the present moment. This first chapter at Les Clarisses is just the beginning of a larger project, in which the designer will continue to explore her emotional, conscious and deeply human design language.

Project: Les Clarisses Hotel Boutique.

First phase: Lobby, lounge y restaurante gastronómico.
Interior design: Susanna Cots.

Location: Vic (Barcelona).
Completion: 2024.
Area: 450 m2.
Materials: Mortex on most surfaces, natural stone, wood, natural linen.
Furniture: Custom-designed.

Lighting: Vibia lamps.
Photography: Mauricio Fuertes.

Susanna Cots: Susanna Cots: spaces open to silence and introspection

Few interior designers in Spain have developed such a distinctive and coherent language as Susanna Cots. Her work—shaped by a deep connection to nature and emotional wellbeing—unfolds from her studio in the serene landscape of the Empordà region, infusing each project with a sense of clarity, balance and quiet beauty. Her approach has garnered recognition both nationally and internationally for its aesthetic sensitivity and conceptual depth.

Cots’ trajectory is defined by a pursuit of equilibrium. A balance between light and shadow, fullness and emptiness, geometry and emotion. Her spaces are invitations to stillness and introspection, where daily life becomes a meditative experience. Natural light, noble materials and organic forms weave a narrative centered on wellbeing, honesty and essential beauty.

Her vision goes beyond decoration: it is a way of inhabiting. Each project is an invitation to reconnect with what matters, to strip away the unnecessary, and to embrace the harmony of simplicity. From private homes to boutique hotels and commercial spaces, Susanna Cots cultivates a timeless aesthetic—one that speaks directly to the soul.

Behind the calm that defines her interiors lies rigorous work, a deep attention to detail, and a finely tuned intuition that reads each space with empathy. Because for Susanna Cots, to design is, above all, an act of care.

Source: Susanna Cots Interior Design.

The project was the winner of a 2020 competition launched by the Barcelona City Council in the context of the pandemic, a moment when housing revealed itself—more than ever before—as a vital space in every sense: physical, emotional, and ecological. The competition brief called for fast, efficient construction with minimal environmental impact, capable of responding to the housing emergency without sacrificing climate commitments. Urbanitree responded with a bold proposal: to construct the tallest public housing building in Catalonia using only industrialized timber.

Timber architecture for a post-carbon city

Rising eight storeys above ground, the building is made entirely of cross-laminated timber (CLT), a system that not only accelerates construction but drastically reduces carbon emissions. As a renewable material that stores atmospheric carbon, the final CO₂ balance is negative. Choosing wood is not just a technical decision—it’s a political one: to build with timber is to commit to a decarbonized, regenerative form of architecture with a lower environmental impact.

Each of the 60-square-metre apartments is designed for maximum comfort under high energy efficiency standards. Every room opens to the exterior, ensuring natural light, cross ventilation and a continuous relationship with the surrounding environment.

But the defining feature of the project lies in the generous terraces attached to each dwelling—hence the name. The architects organized the building around a central courtyard so that all apartments would have façades facing outwards, each with a large terrace. With a depth of 1.8 meters, these terraces are not an afterthought but a genuine extension of domestic life. They can be used for reading, growing plants, sharing meals or simply breathing—something whose value became evident during the pandemic. Urbanitree reclaims the terrace as a place of health, community and shared living.

A building as urban ecosystem

Beyond individual homes, Terrazas para la vida proposes a vision of the building as an urban ecosystem. On the rooftop, a solar greenhouse over eight meters tall functions as a prototype for vertical farming. Equipped with hydroponic growing trays, a centralized irrigation system and LED lighting, this space allows food to be produced on site. The required energy is supplied by a semi-transparent photovoltaic skin enveloping the structure, powering both the greenhouse and the shared areas of the building.

This is not only about energy or food self-sufficiency—it’s about activating new dynamics of community. Residents are encouraged to cultivate, collaborate and collectively reclaim a space that would otherwise remain unused. The rooftop terrace, planted with fruit trees, reinforces the idea of a space where nature and urban life are intertwined.

At ground level, the building hosts a digital fabrication hub—a FabLab open to the local community and equipped with 3D printers, laser cutters and CNC machinery. This facility transforms the building into a node of local production and knowledge, aligned with Guallart’s long-standing vision of the self-sufficient city. In the coming months, a community centre will be added to the ground floor, envisioned as a space for intergenerational activities that will complete the building’s role as a social catalyst.

Urbanitree: building a greener, more resilient and inclusive city

Terrazas para la vida embodies the philosophy of Urbanitree in its purest form. Since its founding, the Barcelona-based studio has worked at the intersection of sustainability, technology and ecological regeneration. Its aim is not merely to design architecture, but to create prototypes for a new kind of urban life—buildings that generate more than they consume, that open themselves to the neighbourhood, that foster human connection and reconnect people with natural cycles.

In this light, the project is not an isolated case but part of a broader transformation: the construction of a city where architecture supports life, both human and non-human, and where design becomes an agent of cultural, social and ecological change.

Project: Terrazas para la vida. 40 viviendas.
Developer: IMHAB Ajuntament de Barcelona.
Architecture: Urbanitree. Vicente Guallart, Daniel Ibañez.
Location: Distrito de Sant Martí (Barcelona).
Construction company: ACSA, Grupo Sorigué.
Project management: Sequoia SLP.
Completion: 2024.
Surface area: 3.800 m².

Urbanitree: a laboratory of advanced architecture

Since its foundation, Urbanitree has established itself as a laboratory of advanced architecture committed to the ecological regeneration of cities and the development of new models of urban living. Its approach lies at the intersection of sustainability, technology and biodiversity, giving rise to projects that not only address today’s climate challenges but also propose new, more conscious, resilient and collaborative ways of inhabiting space.

Based in Barcelona, Urbanitree works across multiple scales—from collective housing to urban design—and is part of international networks of research and innovation. Its practice integrates knowledge from architecture, engineering, biology and digital fabrication, reflecting a holistic perspective on the built environment.

The studio was founded by architects Vicente Guallart and Daniel Ibáñez, two key voices in the contemporary discourse on urban ecology and emerging technologies in architecture.

Vicente Guallart

Vicente Guallart is an architect, urban planner and one of the early advocates of urban self-sufficiency as a strategy for the future of cities. He served as Chief Architect of the City of Barcelona from 2011 to 2015. He is co-founder of the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia (IAAC) and Fab Lab Barcelona, through which he developed projects such as the Media House Project (2001) in collaboration with the MIT Media Lab and the Fab Lab House (2010). He currently directs the Master’s in Advanced Ecological Buildings at Valldaura Labs, where he explores timber construction.

His vision has informed urban policies around the world. He has led projects across Europe, Asia and Latin America, always combining nature and technology in a single architectural narrative. His books The Self-Sufficient City and Geologics articulate an approach to architecture as a living system. Guallart has exhibited four times at the Venice Biennale and was selected for the MoMA’s Spanish architecture exhibition in New York.

Daniel Ibáñez

Daniel Ibáñez, architect and PhD from the Harvard Graduate School of Design, has focused his research on natural materials—particularly timber—and circular models of urban production. He is currently director of the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia. His academic work centres on the use of biogenic, renewable materials in architecture, while his professional practice is dedicated to designing and developing ecological buildings.

He also serves as senior consultant to the World Bank, advising governments and international institutions on industrialized timber construction and sustainable urban development.

As director of the Mass Timber Design Master’s program at IAAC and of the Global Mass Timber platform, Ibáñez bridges architectural design with industrial ecology and regenerative urbanism. His work blends academic rigour with design expertise, exploring how architecture can serve as an interface between natural systems and urban life.

Together, Guallart and Ibáñez lead Urbanitree as an open and collaborative structure, capable of envisioning urban futures where architecture becomes a framework for life.

Source: Urbanitree.

It is not only a celebration of architecture, but an opportunity to strengthen the bond between citizens and the space they inhabit. The city becomes a living network of experiences: exhibitions, guided tours, ephemeral installations, workshops, lectures and encounters that invite us to see, differently, what we thought we already knew.

A city looking at itself

In a particularly significant moment, as the Catalan capital prepares to become World Capital of Architecture in 2026, under the auspices of UNESCO and the UIA, this edition of Architecture Weeks acts as a prelude, a space for reflection and public participation. What does it mean to inhabit Barcelona today? What kind of city do we want to build? What role does architecture play in shaping a more just and sustainable urban future?

The answers emerge through a wide range of formats and proposals. Visitors will be able to explore both heritage buildings and contemporary works, engage in dialogue with architects, urbanists and communicators, and take part in sensory and educational experiences designed for a broad spectrum of audiences.

Dialogues between architecture and the media

One of the programme’s highlights is the fourth edition of Architecture and the Media, taking place on 26 and 27 May at the Mies van der Rohe Pavilion. This international forum, now well established, brings together professionals from architecture, journalism and cultural communication to discuss the role of the media in conveying architectural thought. In an age of digital transformation, the challenge is considerable: how to narrate spatial complexity, how to translate architecture for diverse audiences without losing depth or rigour.

Experiencing architecture through art

One of the experiences that combines architecture and sensitivity is La Miró en conversación, a unique tour through the Fundació Joan Miró building, designed by Josep Lluís Sert. Scheduled for 25 May and 1 and 8 June, these visits move beyond a traditional exhibition format to foster dialogue: guided by an architect, the sessions propose an active exploration of space through shared observation, spoken word and silence. A different way of reading architecture, not so much with the mind, but through the body and the gaze.

Architecture in the classroom

Architecture Weeks also serve as a platform for urban education. The Architects’ Association of Catalonia (COAC) is promoting school workshops and participatory activities aimed at introducing younger generations to spatial thinking and the design of everyday environments. One of the central events will be the Architecture Festival, which this year will take place at Llars Mundet, featuring family activities, guided tours and an exhibition on the “Catalan Mediterranean return”: an itinerary that highlights the landscape, heritage and cultural values of vernacular architecture from a contemporary perspective.

A celebration that is extended, plural and open

Far from presenting architecture as an exclusive language, this edition offers a decentralised and diverse programme. Activities are not limited to iconic central locations, but extend to all neighbourhoods, activating cultural venues, public spaces and buildings that often go unnoticed. It is a strategy aimed at democratising the architectural experience—making it not only a subject of contemplation, but a shared field of action.

Ultimately, Architecture Weeks 2025 are an invitation to pause and observe. To understand that the city is not just a backdrop, but a living organism in constant transformation. And that architecture, beyond its technical or aesthetic dimension, is a tool for imagining more liveable, sustainable and shared futures.

The complexity of the brief — a space that transitions from breakfast venue to lunch and event restaurant — called for a flexible, fluid approach. Tarruella responded by articulating the interiors with sculptural bars that rise organically from continuous flooring, anchoring the space without disrupting its unity. A careful choreography of modular furnishings completes the layout, allowing for seamless adaptability throughout the day.

Integration with the promenade and the Mediterranean horizon was paramount. To that end, the interior floor was subtly elevated to open up the sea views, while folding glass partitions dissolve the boundary between indoors and outdoors. A pergola crafted from natural fibers extends into the restaurant, reinforcing a tactile continuity with the exterior landscape.

The material palette evokes a sunlit stroll along the shoreline: micro-mortar flooring, micro-terrazzo rugs, and a suspended acoustic ceiling with integrated seams create a harmonious, sensory environment. Along the perimeter, a sinuous clay wall — handmade in neutral tones — introduces rhythm and material richness, enveloping diners in a soft, welcoming embrace.

Furniture pieces, crafted from solid iroko wood and glazed ceramics, reflect the Mediterranean spirit and versatility demanded by the space. Verdant Mediterranean plantings, textured fabrics, and strategically placed lighting lend intimacy and character to the different ambiances throughout the day.

Floating above the bars, an art installation by Ramón de los Heros evokes the organic forms of a desert rose, heightening the project’s tactile dimension and further rooting it in a dialogue between nature and artistry.

Through Salt, Tarruella once again demonstrates how design can transcend form, becoming a living, breathing extension of its surroundings.

Project: Restaurante Salt.
Design: Sandra Tarruella.
Project Management: Olga Pajares.
Art Installation: Ramón de los Heros.
Location: Hotel W Barcelona.
Surface: 690 m².
Year: 2024.
Photography: Salva López.

Sandra Tarruella, a lifetime dedicated to crafting atmospheres

Celebrated this year with the Casa Decor Lifetime Achievement Award, Sandra Tarruella stands as a benchmark in Spanish interior design. Her work, spanning over 150 projects, is distinguished by a profound sensitivity to materials, light, and the intrinsic spirit of each place.

Born in Barcelona in 1961 and trained at DIAC and Llotja schools, Tarruella began her journey alongside the Tragaluz Group in the 1980s, signing her first project, the legendary El Mordisco restaurant. In 1992, she founded her own studio, setting a course defined by meticulous attention to detail, collaborations with artisans, and an aesthetic vision that is both timeless and contemporary.

Today, her name is synonymous with spaces that tell stories — atmospheres that transcend trends and resonate with authenticity.

A portfolio of living narratives

Among her most recent works:
• Hotel Sabàtic, in Sitges, created with Olga Pajares and recognized with the Roca Hotel Awards 2024, celebrates the timeless spirit of European leisure.
• Brutus, in Palma, awarded at the Monocle Design Awards 2023, reinterprets brutalism through a tactile, intimate lens.
• Gran Café Santander, in Madrid, revives the historic essence of an icon with contemporary sophistication.
• La Confitería, in Girona, signed by the Roca brothers, captures an explosion of color and creativity within just 25 square meters.
• The Lobster Club, in Mallorca, channels nautical aesthetics with noble materials like iroko wood and brushed steel.
• The Open Spa at the Ibiza Gran Hotel, where stone, wood, and clay orchestrate an experience of serene luxury.

Her career is also marked by emblematic spaces such as El Celler de Can Roca, Hotel Omm, Grand Hotel Central, and Hotel EME in Seville, among others.

Her accolades — including the Conde Nast Awards, the Best of Year Awards from Interior Design Magazine, and the Royal Academy of Gastronomy Award — are a testament to a body of work that places people, memory, and experience at the very center of design.

At Exágono, we celebrate her journey — a legacy built with coherence, poetry, and an unwavering devotion to crafting spaces that breathe life.

Fuente: Sandra Tarruella Interioristas.

Located in the province of Barcelona, Casa HD is a terraced house that retains various original elements in its structure and façade, such as Gothic arches, stone walls, and a centuries-old staircase. It remained closed for years until its new owners decided to renovate it, entrusting Maria Just to lead the project.

Restore, not transform

From the outset, the interior designer was clear that the intervention should preserve the essence of the 15th-century rustic style without sacrificing 21st-century comfort. The most distinctive elements of the house were preserved, and natural materials—wood, stone, clay, vegetable fibres—were chosen to dialogue with the space’s history.

One of the project’s great successes was the creation of a vertical skylight that traverses the floors from the roof to the ground floor, allowing natural light to pass through the entire home. This light, bathing stone walls and exposed beam ceilings, intensifies the serene atmosphere that characterises the whole.

The sky blue colour, recovered from ancient pigments found in the house, serves as a unifying thread throughout the project. It is present in carpentry, walls, and decorative details, imparting a unique and fresh character to the entire ensemble.

Mediterranean tradition and modern design

Maria Just’s approach draws from influences such as J. A. Coderch and Miguel Milá, as well as contemporary architects like Marcio Kogan and John Pawson, who masterfully combine rationalism and warmth. In Casa HD, this inspiration materialises in a series of aesthetic and functional decisions: built-in oak furniture, artisanal ceramic coverings, natural textiles, and a selection of pieces that reinforce the character of the place.

Notable among these are the TMM lamp by Miguel Milá for Santa & Cole, the CH37 armchairs and CH36 chairs by Hans J. Wegner for Carl Hansen & Son, and the jute rugs designed by Vincent van Duysen for Zara Home. The kitchen furniture—also designed by Maria Just—was crafted by Fusteria Sigüenza in natural oak wood and incorporates a marble countertop recovered from the family’s old butcher shop.

A home as a narrative

Beyond design, Casa HD tells a story: that of a house that has survived more than five centuries, kept alive by those who have inhabited it, and now reinvents itself without losing its identity. Maria Just’s work in this renovation demonstrates that interior design not only transforms spaces but also reactivates memories and enriches experiences.

Furniture

Ground Floor. Living Area. Built-in sofas with oak wood tops, custom-made, chest-type with lower storage space. Custom-upholstered cushions in sand-coloured canvas. TMM floor lamp in oak by Miguel Milá for Santa & Cole. Greta table lamp by Gabriel Teixidó for Carpyen. Rush stools from Ca l’Esparter. CH37 armchairs by Hans J. Wegner for Carl Hansen & Son. Jute rug in the living area from Zara Home.

Ground Floor. Dining Room. Antique dining table of family origin, restored. CH36 dining chairs by Hans J. Wegner for Carl Hansen & Son.

Kitchen.

First Floor. Master Bedroom. Rush stools from Ca l’Esparter. Dione wall sconces in white from Kave Home. Bed headboard in sand-coloured linen from Maisons du Monde. Wardrobe designed by Maria Just, custom-made in wood, lacquered in the same sky blue as the rest of the wardrobes, doors, and windows of the house, crafted by Fusteria Sigüenza.

First Floor. Study. Rug 02 jute rug by Vincent van Duysen for Zara Home. Alex sideboard and display cabinet from Tikamoon.

Project: Casa HD.
Location: Provincia de Barcelona.
Completion: 2024.
Interior Design: Maria Just.
Photography: María Pujol.
Carpentry, Custom Furniture, Enclosures, and Windows: Fusteria Sigüenza i fills.
Construction Company / Masonry / Flooring: Jona Ambròs Albet.
Installations / Electricity and Lighting / Climate Control:  Orga Energies 3G 
Painting: Pere Pujó. 
Bathroom Coverings: Cerámica Cabestany. 
Flooring: Feca.
Rush and Wicker Furniture: Ca l’Esparter Dalmau.

Maria Just

Although her initial education was in Political Science, Maria Just soon found her true vocation in interior design. After studying at Elisava, she began her professional career in 2005 at Raimon Parera’s studio, specialising in projects for the fashion, hospitality, and residential sectors. There, she discovered her preference for residential spaces, an interest that dated back to her childhood when she spent hours rearranging furniture and devouring her mother’s interior design magazines: Ambiente, Nuevo Estilo…

Today, she leads her own studio, Maria Just Interiorisme, in Vilafranca del Penedès, where she develops warm, timeless, and deeply personal projects. Her style is characterised by a combination of minimalism and warmth, with special attention to natural materials and the architectural environment.

Maria avoids fleeting trends and extravagance. She draws inspiration from modern Catalan architecture, figures like Coderch and Milá, and international creators such as Marcio Kogan and John Pawson. She believes that in recent years, our homes have become the epicentres of our lives, and design should foster comfort, connection, and openness of spaces.

Each project is, for her, a new beginning. A gift she approaches with respect, enthusiasm, and the same passion for design that led her to embark on this path. “In ten years,” she says, “I see myself enjoying my work as I do now, with the same excitement as when I started.”

Source: Maria Just.