Burés House

Grand Modernista staircase hall at Burés House beneath a vast stained-glass skylight, a carved stone balustrade sweeping up past stained-glass windows towards an arched doorway
Location: Barcelona, SpainType: ApartmentYear: 2019Architect: TdB Arquitectura + Estudio VilablanchPhotographer: Jordi Folch, Alejo Bagué
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Burés House by TdB Arquitectura and Estudio Vilablanch in Barcelona

Burés House (Casa Burés) is a Modernista apartment building on the corner of Carrer d’Ausiàs March and Carrer de Girona in Barcelona’s Eixample, restored and converted into 26 residences by TdB Arquitectura and Estudio Vilablanch for Bonavista Developments. Completed in January 2019 after three years of work, the project turned one of the city’s great Modernista buildings, nearly abandoned for years and partly vandalised, back into an apartment house, restoring its stained glass, frescoes, mosaics and carved woodwork while adapting it to the needs of contemporary living.

Oval salon at Burés House with cream and gilt carved panelling and a painted sky with cherubs on the ceiling, a woman walking past an arched floor lamp towards an open doorway

A Modernista house for a textile dynasty

The building was constructed between 1900 and 1905 to designs by the Catalan architect Francesc Berenguer i Mestres, a close collaborator of Antoni Gaudí. It takes its name from its first owner, Francesc Burés, whose firm Industrias Burés was one of Spain’s most successful textile companies. The ground floor housed the company’s headquarters, the 1,000-square-metre first floor was the Burés family home, and the floors above held large rental apartments of around 300 square metres, reached by one of the first lifts installed in Barcelona. A corner tower crowned by a slender conical spire marks the junction of the two streets. With 7,700 square metres over six floors, the house has been listed since 1979 and is protected as a Bé Cultural d’Interès Local.

Oval salon at Burés House seen from the doorway, a ceiling fresco of cherubs in clouds ringed by gilded plaster scrolls above carved panelling, tall leaded windows and a gleaming floor

Heritage rehabilitation and housing rehabilitation

For TdB Arquitectura, the interest of the renovation lay in the overlapping of two conditions: heritage rehabilitation and housing rehabilitation. Conserving Nolla mosaic floors, polychrome ceilings, mouldings and stained glass is demanding in itself, and doing so while meeting current housing regulations made it more so. The architects kept the vertical core of stairs and the corridors on each floor, and subdivided the original dwellings from three to six units per floor while keeping cross ventilation through the interior courtyards. The rooms of heritage value form a “crown” along the street and courtyard facades, where they were preserved, while a central strip on each floor takes the services and secondary rooms of the new homes.

Open-plan apartment at Burés House under a restored gilded relief ceiling, a grey sectional sofa and oval coffee table on oak boards and a long dining table on patterned hydraulic tiles

Three interior concepts

The interior design, by Estudio Vilablanch with TdB Arquitectura, had two goals: to recover and highlight the building’s original decorative elements, and to adapt the homes to contemporary needs in layout, technology, safety, accessibility and comfort. The rule was strict. Every original architectural and decorative element was restored, and new materials were added only where needed, never competing with or imitating the old. Three concepts follow the character of each part of the building: industrial lofts and common areas, two palatial residences, and 21 contemporary flats with rich original features.

Loft kitchen at Burés House between exposed brick arches, a marble-topped island clad in an antique blue cast-iron range, steel worktops along the wall and a dining table by arched steel windows

The palatial main floor

The richest level is the main floor, the former Burés family residence, which was divided into two flats of about 500 square metres each. Here mosaic and marquetry floors, stained-glass windows, frescoed walls and ceilings, carved woodwork and relief ceilings were all carefully restored, among them an oval salon whose painted sky of cherubs and clouds is ringed with gilded plasterwork. New furniture and finishes were kept refined but quiet, light and in harmony with the rooms, so that the historic decoration stays the focus. The building’s grand stone staircase, lit by a vast stained-glass skylight, is one of its showpieces.

Long empty room at Burés House with a coffered relief ceiling and plaster rose, plain white walls and a carpet-like patterned hydraulic tile floor leading to a lit niche at the far end

Apartments and attics: old and new in contrast

The upper floors, originally rental flats, now hold 16 apartments and five attics. Their Modernista rooms sit in the crown facing the facades, where ornate ceilings, cornices and patterned hydraulic tile floors were restored. In the interior areas, where original elements did not exist or could not be kept, white surfaces and oak were introduced to contrast with the old decoration rather than compete with it. Kitchens are by bulthaup, and furniture and bathrooms by MINIM.

Ground-floor loft at Burés House with slender cast-iron columns and beams, a grey concrete floor, an exposed brick wall and black-framed steel glazing across the far end

Industrial lofts and a vaulted basement pool

The ground floor and basement, once given over to the textile business, never had Modernista decoration but a strong industrial personality, which the design brings back with big open spaces, high ceilings, concrete floors, cast-iron columns and bare brick walls. The ground floor became three lofts, while the basement was turned into shared amenities for residents: a swimming pool beneath a white vault, a spa, a gym, a wine cellar, an open kitchen, a terrace and spaces for social events.

Team and credits

Burés House was designed by TdB Arquitectura, led by Juan Trias de Bes, and Estudio Vilablanch, the Barcelona interior design studio founded in 1999 by the architect Elina Vilá and the interior designer Agnès Blanch, with structural engineering by BIS Structures and building services by JG Ingenieros. The restoration drew on specialist artisans including Vitralls Bonet for the stained glass, Ebanistería Llorens for the woodwork and the conservators of Taller ProArtis and Abac. The project was named Co-Living Complex of the Year at the Frame Awards 2020 and won at the Archmarathon Selection 2019 and Premios Arquitectura Plus 2019. Photography is by Jordi Folch and Alejo Bagué. For more Barcelona Modernisme on Archtene, see Casa Vicens Restoration, Casa Batlló and Casa Milà (La Pedrera).

Burés House gallery

Grand Modernista staircase hall at Burés House beneath a vast stained-glass skylight, a carved stone balustrade sweeping up past stained-glass windows towards an arched doorwaySalon on the main floor of Burés House with a carved timber coffered ceiling, an ornate wooden arch and screen, landscape murals above timber wainscoting and a patterned mosaic floorOval salon at Burés House with cream and gilt carved panelling and a painted sky with cherubs on the ceiling, a woman walking past an arched floor lamp towards an open doorwayHall of the main-floor residence at Burés House with frescoed walls and timber wainscoting, stained-glass doors and windows, a sputnik chandelier above a round black table on a polished floorOval salon at Burés House seen from the doorway, a ceiling fresco of cherubs in clouds ringed by gilded plaster scrolls above carved panelling, tall leaded windows and a gleaming floorRestored room on the main floor of Burés House with faded painted walls, a carved timber dado, stained-glass windows and open double doors leading to further rooms across a polished floorOpen-plan apartment at Burés House under a restored gilded relief ceiling, a grey sectional sofa and oval coffee table on oak boards and a long dining table on patterned hydraulic tilesBedroom in a Burés House apartment with a restored ceiling rose and cornice, a bed with a tall dusty-pink headboard, a pink armchair by the balcony window and blue-and-white patterned floor tilesLoft kitchen at Burés House between exposed brick arches, a marble-topped island clad in an antique blue cast-iron range, steel worktops along the wall and a dining table by arched steel windowsBathroom at Burés House with an oval wood-framed mirror above a white vessel basin on a slim timber-legged vanity, wall-mounted brass taps and a restored mosaic floor in warm tonesLong empty room at Burés House with a coffered relief ceiling and plaster rose, plain white walls and a carpet-like patterned hydraulic tile floor leading to a lit niche at the far endHallway at Burés House under a gilded relief ceiling edged with concealed lighting, a stained-glass window panel, white panelled doors and a restored mosaic floorGround-floor loft at Burés House with slender cast-iron columns and beams, a grey concrete floor, an exposed brick wall and black-framed steel glazing across the far endBrick-vaulted basement common area at Burés House, a long dining table under a pendant lamp seen through a sequence of brick arches, with black steel glazed screens and a figure by the windowsBasement hall at Burés House framed by rough brick piers and uplit walls, a large arched steel-framed window looking through to the lit swimming pool beyondSwimming pool in the basement of Burés House, a long lane of turquoise water beneath a white barrel vault with warmly lit brick arches and stone paving along one sideView looking up through the lift and stair core of Burés House to a stained-glass skylight, with steel framing, glass panels and carved stone edgesRoof of Burés House at dusk, pyramid stained-glass skylights glowing with colour beside the dark conical spire of the corner tower against a deep blue sky

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