Studio mk27 was the winner of the closed competition to transform the interior of an existing commercial building into a high-end residential building. Located in one of the main financial centers of Barcelona, next to the Plaza Francesc Maciá on Diagonal Avenue, the building was originally designed by the Swiss architect Marc-Joseph Saugey during the 1960’s. With an elliptical floor-plan, its 11-stories are wrapped in a distinctive grid of glass and the arch-shaped sunshade in each window makes them resemble eyebrows, making it a landmark in the city. Contrary to the standard situation of buildings around roundabouts which tend to follow the parallel curvature, the Francesc Macià 10, or FM10, presents itself convexly to the city. It is a valiant building.

Studio mk27 designed all the common areas of the building as well as one of its 8 apartments. Brass and wood were the main materials used to shape the architectural interventions in the building. Walls lined with Carrara, Negro Marquina and Statuario marbles, are a discreet homage to Mies van der Rohe’s Barcelona Pavillion.

On the ground floor, the elegant original concrete marquise dialogues with the brass panels that make up the entrance of the building while, simultaneously, determines the glassed-in areas of the stores’ showcases. In the reception area of the building, lined with nougat panels, the resident or visitor is met by the concierge from behind a counter illuminated by a lamp-sculpture especially designed by Michael Anastassiades. The first floor houses the stainless-steel heated pool, the sauna the gym and the dressing rooms. From the pool, resting on one of the loungers by Charlotte Perriand, one can contemplate a small pedestrian square at the back of the site through an enormous glassed-in window.

Two elevators, two fire escape stairs, a hall, a washroom and a cloak room are located at the core the building, also in elliptical shape. This core divides the large floor slab into two main uses: social and private, with continuous circulation around it. In the interior of the apartments this volume is almost completely lined by slatted wooden panels.

The living and dining rooms face the front façade of the building and are framed by the glass-encased 55m floor-to-ceiling curved façade. The city is the background for the apartment, creating a radical continuity between interior and exterior. On the other façade, organized in a long hall around the central core, are the bedrooms and the kitchen.

The principle of the decoration was to bring the same classic and contemporary style of the original project to the interior of the building. Icons of international design such as Gio Ponti, Serge Mouille, Warren Platner are mixed with Brazilian design icons such as Lina Bo Bardi, Jader Almeida and Sergio Rodrigues. The furniture design was contemplated as a fundamental part of the architecture. For example, the large brass shelving unit in the living room had to be specially made to fit into the curved wall in front of the glassed-in façade. The sideboards of the apartment were also designed in such a way so as to bring the materials used in this project to scale of the object.

Studio MK27

FM10

location > barcelona . spain
project > august . 2012
completion > january . 2017
built area > 18,000 sqm
-
architect > marcio kogan
co-architects > beatriz meyer . diana radomysler .
suzana glogowski . pedro ribeiro
local architects > ricard mercadé aurora fernandez arquitectes
architecture team > eduardo gurian . regiane leão . raquel reznicek
communication team > carlos costa . laura guedes . mariana simas
-
developer > squircle
contractor > aldesa construcciones s.a.
-
landscape designer > ae land 1988 s.l.
structure engineer > manuel arguijo y asociados s.l.
photographer > jonas bjerre-poulsen

Studio mk27 was the winner of the closed competition to transform the interior of an existing commercial building into a high-end residential building. Located in one of the main financial centers of Barcelona, next to the Plaza Francesc Maciá on Diagonal Avenue, the building was originally designed by the Swiss architect Marc-Joseph Saugey during the 1960’s. With an elliptical floor-plan, its 11-stories are wrapped in a distinctive grid of glass and the arch-shaped sunshade in each window makes them resemble eyebrows, making it a landmark in the city. Contrary to the standard situation of buildings around roundabouts which tend to follow the parallel curvature, the Francesc Macià 10, or FM10, presents itself convexly to the city. It is a valiant building.

Studio mk27 designed all the common areas of the building as well as one of its 8 apartments. Brass and wood were the main materials used to shape the architectural interventions in the building. Walls lined with Carrara, Negro Marquina and Statuario marbles, are a discreet homage to Mies van der Rohe’s Barcelona Pavillion.

On the ground floor, the elegant original concrete marquise dialogues with the brass panels that make up the entrance of the building while, simultaneously, determines the glassed-in areas of the stores’ showcases. In the reception area of the building, lined with nougat panels, the resident or visitor is met by the concierge from behind a counter illuminated by a lamp-sculpture especially designed by Michael Anastassiades. The first floor houses the stainless-steel heated pool, the sauna the gym and the dressing rooms. From the pool, resting on one of the loungers by Charlotte Perriand, one can contemplate a small pedestrian square at the back of the site through an enormous glassed-in window.

Two elevators, two fire escape stairs, a hall, a washroom and a cloak room are located at the core the building, also in elliptical shape. This core divides the large floor slab into two main uses: social and private, with continuous circulation around it. In the interior of the apartments this volume is almost completely lined by slatted wooden panels.

The living and dining rooms face the front façade of the building and are framed by the glass-encased 55m floor-to-ceiling curved façade. The city is the background for the apartment, creating a radical continuity between interior and exterior. On the other façade, organized in a long hall around the central core, are the bedrooms and the kitchen.

The principle of the decoration was to bring the same classic and contemporary style of the original project to the interior of the building. Icons of international design such as Gio Ponti, Serge Mouille, Warren Platner are mixed with Brazilian design icons such as Lina Bo Bardi, Jader Almeida and Sergio Rodrigues. The furniture design was contemplated as a fundamental part of the architecture. For example, the large brass shelving unit in the living room had to be specially made to fit into the curved wall in front of the glassed-in façade. The sideboards of the apartment were also designed in such a way so as to bring the materials used in this project to scale of the object.

Studio MK27