Starting from the fourth floor, the volume of the building is set back to create a hybrid outdoor space that is accessed from different meeting rooms on the fourth level and a large terrace on the fifth level. The building has cross ventilation thanks to the creation of a small patio in the old stairwell. The rear façade has a large lighting hole made of pavés.
The building has been designed under sustainability criteria, with energy savings and the use of local materials being paramount, prioritizing those that could be found in the building's surroundings with the aim of reducing the CO2 footprint. The green colour of the interior structure of the building is emphasized, using it throughout the building's locks.
The building has a reuse rate of 62%, saves 48% of water and almost 10% of the energy comes from photovoltaic panels installed in it. In addition, it is connected to the urban hot and cold network (DHC) and to the pneumatic waste collection network.
Coworking LOOM Hardware store by Daniel Modòl. Photograph by Daniel Modol.
Project description by Daniel Modòl
LOOM Ferretería is based on the global rehabilitation and change of use of the old industrial building occupied by the historic Balius hardware store, founded in 1914, where practically everything necessary for construction could be found for sale.
It is a five-story building, renovated in the 1970s, with a metallic structure and a Catalan vault that gives it a unique character, which is why, in the project, it was decided to preserve these two details of the old building. The rest of the intervention has been adapted to the scale and materiality of the residential environment, using traditional materials such as ceramics, iron and wood.
The main façade was removed to enhance the existing structure and make it visible from the outside with a unique result since, in Barcelona, due to isolation issues above all, the structure is usually hidden. The interior façade adopts a classic gallery typology with natural wood and glass carpentry on which a plant façade with industrial metal planters is raised, which add vitality to the composition of the building and gives the building an almost domestic character. Added to the fact that it is a practicable façade, which users can open on each of the floors, they distinguish this coworking from the office buildings in Barcelona, which are more uniform and disconnected from the outside.
Coworking LOOM Hardware store by Daniel Modòl. Photograph by Daniel Modol.
Coworking LOOM Hardware store by Daniel Modòl. Photograph by Jordi Bernadó.
On the fourth floor, a setback of the façade is created, generating an exterior space and different meeting rooms are placed as a hybrid space with the option of interacting with the exterior. On the rest of the floors, both natural light and ventilation are provided by the openings in the main façade, the creation of a patio in the old stairwell, and the rear pavé façade.
All the materials used are noble and local, prioritizing those that are easy to find around the building with the aim of respecting the immediate residential environment and taming these new types of buildings implanted in the neighbourhood. The green colour existing in a large part of the interior structure of the building is recovered and emphasized, using it throughout the structure and locks of the building.
The new coworking has been designed under sustainability criteria, with energy savings and user comfort being essential to generate a sustainable workspace, which has the LEED Gold certification. The building has a reuse rate of 62%, saves 48% of water and almost 10% of the energy comes from photovoltaic panels installed in it. In addition, it is connected to the urban hot and cold network (DHC) and to the pneumatic waste collection network.
