Mireia And Toni’s House (and Joan’s And Laia’s) / Vora Arquitectura

Architects: Vora Arquitectura
Area: 165 m²
Year: 2018 to 2019 (design), 2021 to 2023 (construction)
Photography: Adrià Goula
Project Team: Marina Pina, Aleksandra Mazewska, Nuno Gomes
Construction: Metric Integra
Structure: Uma Projectes
Services: Quadrifoli
Building Technical Architect: Joan Olona
City: Barcelona
Country: Spain

Mireia and Toni’s (and Joan’s and Laia’s) House, a residential project designed by Vora Arquitectura in Barcelona’s Sants neighborhood, reconfigures domestic space on a narrow 3.60-meter plot through sectional layering and precise structural logic. Completed in 2023, the house centers around a courtyard and a longitudinal stair that enables natural light and circulation across mid-height levels. Deep façade windows, glazed ceramic surfaces, and a hybrid frame support the spatial and environmental clarity of the design. Passive systems and concealed infrastructure emphasize functionality while maintaining formal coherence within tight urban constraints.

Mireia and toni’s house (and joan’s and laia’s) / vora arquitectura

Mireia and Toni’s (and Joan’s and Laia’s) House occupies a narrow urban infill site in the Sants neighborhood of Barcelona, with a width of only 3.60 meters. Designed by Vora, led by Pere Buil and Toni Riba, the residence responds to the limitations of the long, slender plot by organizing the plan around a central courtyard and a vertically layered circulation core. A longitudinal staircase runs alongside the courtyard, connecting split levels and removing the need for traditional corridors. This approach introduces natural light and shapes the sectional rhythm of the interior.

The ground floor is defined by two distinct interior heights. Toward the street, a conventional ceiling height defines the front zone, while the rear opens up to one and a half levels, connecting the living space to a small garden. Spaces unfold in a linear sequence and are structured through four transversal porticoes. Entry occurs through a garage and a short threshold that leads into a centrally positioned kitchen. Open to the stair void, the kitchen integrates storage beneath the first landing, where the refrigerator, freezer, and pantry are located. The rear portion contains the double-height living room, connected directly to the outdoor garden.

The first landing of the stairs expands into a small mezzanine, designed as an occasional workspace or reading area that remains visually connected to the family’s daily life below. On the upper floor, the program follows a stepped and symmetrical layout. Two bedrooms face the front and rear façades, each linked to a playroom or work area and a compact bathroom. These bathrooms are split across half levels, with the shower and toilet placed on opposite sides of the stair core to accommodate the narrow width.

The rooftop functions as an additional domestic space. It is uncovered but enclosed by tall perimeter walls and divided into two parts that flank the courtyard and stair zone. A slightly elevated platform at the rear offers views of the garden. This top-level continuation of the split-section strategy reinforces the vertical logic of the design.

On the exterior, the ground floor opens directly to the garden, while the upper level engages the outside through two deep-set façade windows. These windows serve as key spatial elements in the bedrooms. Each consists of two staggered openings: a narrow operable section aligned with the interior plane, offering ventilation and access to a small balcony carved into the façade, and a wider fixed pane aligned with the outer surface that creates a built-in window seat.

Materiality throughout the project is restrained and consistent. Walls and roofs are constructed from exposed ceramic, plastered at lower levels, and finished in white. Floors are primarily micro-cement, while select rooms use two-tone mosaic tiles in whole and quarter-cut configurations. Glazed ceramic tiles are used on the street-facing and courtyard façades, as well as in the bathrooms. These tiles extend inward from the courtyard, flowing into the double-height kitchen zone and amplifying daylight through reflective surfaces.

The structure, developed by Uma Projectes, is hybrid and modular. Four transversal porticoes organize the plan. Steel columns at the outer edges span the full width of the site, while two central brick buttresses support a trio of beams arranged in an H-configuration. These beams carry the complex loads of the courtyard enclosure and the upper levels. The floor slabs are built from seven-meter steel joists, ceramic boards, and a concrete compression layer, creating a repeated rhythm that defines the spatial grid.

The party walls are made of brick but are not load-bearing. Their thickness is used to conceal mechanical and electrical systems. One of the walls incorporates an existing stone element shared with the neighboring property, which remains visible inside the house and is extended above with ceramic brick.

Façade construction uses a double layer of ceramic brick with an air gap and internal insulation, resulting in deep window reveals. Walls facing the courtyard are built with a single ceramic layer and externally insulated with SATE.

Services, designed by Quadrifoli, are hidden within floor and wall cavities. Heating is provided through radiant flooring, and summer comfort is managed with ceiling fans. The design intentionally avoids air conditioning systems. Construction was managed by Metric Integra, with Joan Olona overseeing technical execution and budget control. Photography was completed by Adrià Goula.