mesura transforms barcelona flat to blend living space + art gallery

vasto gallery: harmonizing art and domesticity

With its newly completed Vasto Gallery, Barcelona-based studio Mesura merges the home and the art gallery, understanding the needs of its clients by creating a space which is not strictly defined in terms of its purpose. While the industrial studio has been renovated into an intimate residence, its initial ambiguity remains — allowing it to shift between a domestic and art space.

images © Salva López | @salvalopez

industrial renovation

Mesura’s Vasto Gallery is located in Poblenou, an old neighborhood in Barcelona, whose close proximity to the sea historically led to an industrial urban fabric. During the 1960s and 1970s, the area saw a decrease in industrial activity, leaving unused spaces that are currently being transformed to accommodate the new wave of creativity that is breathing life back into the quarter.

Here, the architects selected the industrial building as the site of its Vasto Gallery. The apartment opens up with a lofty room with large windows along three walls, and an open plan just divided by two rows of steel columns. Its unique ceiling mirrors the local construction techniques from the nineteenth century, made popular by Catalan architect Joan Torras who used steel beams alongside flat ceramic pieces to create a vaulted structure.

sunlit interiors by mesura

Designing its Vasto Gallery, Mesura takes advantage of the light, spacious atmosphere and unique structure of the apartment, minimizing the use of partitions. The floor plan is split into two zones, a private and public space; the public space functioning as a living room and exhibition area. To create a sense of lightness and fluidity, the separation of the two areas is done by a service core, built in wood, that is separate from the walls and ceiling. This central volume stands out not as a wall, but as a free-standing element, allowing occupants to take in the entire space.

This living area is designed to be highly flexible, with only two static objects: an eight meter-long stainless steel kitchen counter and a long off-white table along the opposite wall. The rest of the room is open, allowing it to be configured in a variety of ways. While the private room is smaller in size, the same concept is applied — the bedroom and bathroom are combined into one space, with the bed, bathtub and sink being movable items and the shower, walk-in-closet and toilet being in the center.

‘a constellation of objects’

The project comprises two distinct parts. The first involves the restoration of the existing features of the house through construction, while the second focuses on the interior design with new elements. These elements are detached from the boundaries of the house and present a contrast to the white-washed walls and light-wood furniture. They are accents of color and form, creating a contemporary and cohesive identity throughout the space. The focus is then drawn to the pieces scattered around.