Beatriz Alés Atelier

The narrow streets of la Barceloneta and its singular plots' sub-division produce a type of apartment known as “quart de casa”, which has an area of 35 sqm. Most of the inhabitats of this area are elderly and spend long time on the public space, due to the reduced size of their apartments. The main architectural problem of La Barceloneta is that 86% of its apartments do not have elevator.
The project rethinks the neighborhood as if it was one building. Instead of proposing an elevator in every building, we propose an elevator in one out of four streets. The elevators are placed at the end of the street creating a terrace, a new place for the community that provides access to the different apartments.

Quart de casa, 2015

The new museum M20 will be home to tens of art pieces that are now in several galleries and archives of Berlin. It is an opportunity to develop the urban design of the very last empty plot in the Kulturforum, lying between its solitary neighbors. The building figure and heights development of our proposal encourages a connection to those iconic buildings. The new urban situation gives back the leading role to the Kulturforum plaza, giving access to the M20, as well as to its restaurant and media room, to St.-Matthäus Church and to the Kammermusiksaal. The one-way structure, made up of concrete walls, cores and present beams, encloses the interior space and creates a robust atmosphere in contrast to the transparent façades. The central stair connects the underground floors with the first floor, where the exhibition areas are placed.

Museum of the XX Century, 2016

However, the most singular element of this refurbishment is the 13,5m high pergola. This construction blends the colossal proportions of the buildings inside the park and the variations of heights on the different layers that it has. At the end, it is a welcoming structure that gathers up both trees and people walking by under its presence.

Plaza de la Vaguada, 2017