ARCHIVE

Article from issue 5/2004 »Staircases and Lifts«

Architects’ Office in Barcelona

documentation p. 484 - 486
Architect Ferrater, Carlos | Structural Engineer Capilla, Juan Carlos |

Drafts
1:10 Detail of starter
1:50 Staircase plan and section
1:500 Ground floor plan

In this office and housing block, the distinction between the two functions is legible in the facade. On the upper, residential levels, the face of the building is dissolved into a series of layers: the window glazing, wood sliding sunshading elements, steel balustrades, and quartzite cladding slabs articulated with horizontal joints. Occupying the two levels at the base of the building are the architects’ offices. A suspended, welded bent-steel staircase is visible here through the extensively glazed entrance facade. The two flights of stairs, separated by a step in the landing, are structurally independent of each other; and apart from the suspension rods and a safety barrier on the first floor, there are no balustrades.