Hotel Diagonal 414

414, Avinguda Diagonal, Barcelona, Spain

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Hotel Diagonal 414

414, Avinguda Diagonal, Barcelona, Spain

Firm

Neolexia

Type

Hospitality + Sport › Hotel

STATUS

Under Construction

SIZE

25,000 sqft - 100,000 sqft

BUDGET

$5M - 10M

By definition, the diagonal is a line that connects two opposing corners. Our city’s architecture, however, reveals much more. The dialogue between new and old, large and small, introversion and extroversion is always mediated by the unseen axis.

Located at the convergence of several such axes, the existing site converses with the modernist monument Casa de les Punxes. Completed in 1905 by the famous modernist architect Josep Puig i Cadafalch, the building is an heirloom of the architectural style of the “Modernista” movement. In homage, the existing fabric maintains its plays and rhythms by means interpretation. One of the main design criteria is therefore continuing and adding to this conversation by adopting the language of modernism and acknowledging the impossibility of a separation between the object and its context.

Implementing the concept of the diagonal as an element of communication, the project argues for the conversion and extension of the existing residential block into a functionally diverse hotel. ligned with Cerda’s original vision of the interior block as an open green space, the lower levels of the hotel provide a mix of public and private spaces, revealing the hidden charm of the city’s interior courtyards. The architectural landscape of the vibrant Avinguda Diagonal and the natural form of the courtyard’s green enjoyment spaces, meet within the dialogue of the hotels social diagonals. The building thus becomes an instrument of communication between exteriority and interiority, merging the built and natural environment. Intimate but open, the interior spaces perpetually generate new perspectives of the city. The main façade preserves the language of the existing building maintaining its rhythms, forms and proportions while reinterpreting the classical elements through a modern outlook.

Drawing on the sites historic roots, the elements of the façade merge into a landscape of shapes that portray the spirit of modernism not only as a formal gesture but also in applying one of the main modernist principles: that of engaging an innovative design. By use of parametric design tools and cutting-edge, robot controlled manufacturing techniques, the attention for detail of the modernist artisans is brought back to life in the guise of contemporary holistic design solutions.