The sustainable and delicate transformation of an old village house in l’Empordà reflects Claudina Relat’s love for this land

In the gentle land of l’Empordà, where rows of cypress trees guard the memory of men and women shaped by the tramuntana wind, architect Claudina Relat signs the delicate transformation of an old village house. An intervention born from a profound affection for this territory, conceived to affirm a way of living that is conscious, serene and deeply Mediterranean.

The renovation reinterprets tradition through the lens of sustainability, allowing architecture to recover its essential mission as refuge, balance and dialogue with the place. Here, natural light, the closeness of the landscape and the honesty of materials act as the guiding threads that shape the project.

A glazed dining room that dissolves into the outdoors

The once-defined border between interior and exterior softens in the new glazed dining room, conceived as a gallery that extends daily life toward the garden. Thanks to an adjustable awning system, the space filters sunlight and maintains a stable thermal comfort, making the room habitable throughout the year.

A solid wood table, chairs woven from natural fibres and exposed stone restore an elemental connection with Empordanese tradition, while ceramic floors bring freshness during summer and an understated timelessness that anchors the home to its geography. From inside, the gaze flows uninterrupted toward water, greenery and the shifting sky.

The kitchen: craftsmanship and warmth

The kitchen reveals the project’s ability to harmonise innovation and tradition. Its L-shaped peninsula is built with masonry walls coated in lime mortar, a breathable material that adds texture, robustness and a distinctly Mediterranean artisanal presence. The cabinet fronts—an elegant Ikea hack of the Forsbacka model—show how contemporary design can integrate seamlessly within a space where tactility and everyday life take centre stage.

The white-painted vaulted ceiling amplifies the brightness; the hydraulic tiles introduce rhythm and colour; and the sage-green carpentry connects the space with the surrounding nature, adding a sense of freshness.

Bedrooms anchored in calm

The upper floor hosts the bedrooms, conceived with the gentle austerity that defines the entire project. Acacia benches, natural fibres, local woods and custom-built elements compose spaces where serenity prevails. The main suite, spacious and filled with light, becomes a refuge that breathes authenticity and quietness. Every detail is oriented toward mindful living and restorative rest: neutral textiles, honest materials, softened light and furniture that lives in harmony with the original architecture.

A pool that breathes like a pond

In the garden, the intervention finds one of its most poetic gestures: a pool treated like an integrated pond that blends into the landscape under the watchful gaze of the church belltower. Water moves here between ceramic, stone and vegetation, accompanied by the murmur of a small waterfall. It is a place to feel the passage of time, the song of birds and the distant chime of the bell.

The renovation rests on noble materials—lime, wood, stone—and is shaped by energy-efficient principles that reduce demand, regulate the interior climate and ensure a steady hygrothermal comfort. Breathable walls, passive solar control, responsible resource use and attention to the landscape create a project aligned with the environmental commitments of contemporary architecture.

As Claudina Relat sums up: “This renovation represents the opportunity to show how architecture can reinterpret Mediterranean tradition through technical innovation and sustainability. It is a way of proposing a more balanced way of living, deeply rooted in the territory.” Between lime-washed walls, green carpentry and shimmering reflections of water, this Empordanese home reveals that sustainable architecture is not a futuristic gesture, but the conscious recovery of what has always worked. A way forward that begins by returning to the roots.

Project: Rehabilitació Empordà.
Location: L’Empordà (Girona).
Completion: 2025.
Architecture: Claudina Relat Arquitectura.
Photography: Carla Baraldés.
Source: Claudina Relat Arquitectura.

Claudina Relat

Claudina Relat Goberna (Manresa, 1983) is a Catalan architect and urban planner whose practice moves between the poetic sensitivity of dwelling and the technical urgency of sustainability. After graduating in 2008 from the Escola Tècnica Superior d’Arquitectura de Barcelona (ETSAB) at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, Relat founded her own studio, Claudina Relat Arquitectura, in 2009, based in Manresa. From there she undertakes residential, territorial and rehabilitation projects guided by efficiency, formal simplicity and a deliberate emotional depth.

From 2019 to 2022 she served in public office in the field of urban planning —as a councillor of the Manresa City Council— an experience that enabled her to combine architectural practice with urban and community action. In parallel, she has held positions within the Col·legi d’Arquitectes de Catalunya – Demarcació de les Comarques Centrals (COAC Comarques Centrals), eventually becoming its president, from where she drives an agenda aligned with the challenges of the 2030 Agenda: heritage rehabilitation, inclusive public spaces and architectures with a low ecological footprint.

Relat’s architectural language is defined by formal clarity, an acute sensibility to landscape, light understood as primary matter, and a decisive commitment to the energy envelope as a vehicle for wellbeing. Her practice converges around three essential axes: the emotion of space, technical precision and community engagement. Housing, for her, is inhabited landscape, revisited memory, a possible refuge. Her recent work demonstrates that architecture can serve as an instrument for social, ecological and aesthetic transformation without relinquishing the human scale or the rhythm of everyday life.

Relat has also taken part in conferences and forums dedicated to sustainable architecture, feminist urbanism and the role of new technologies in contemporary architectural practice.

With this profile, Claudina Relat Goberna emerges as one of the most compelling voices in contemporary Catalan architecture, particularly for her ability to weave territory, community and future into every project she undertakes.

Project by Claudina Relat