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A Barcelona language school injects energy into education with culture and colour

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28 Oct 2024
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BOOKMARK ARTICLE
A Barcelona language school injects energy into education with culture and colour
  1. El Departamento balanced preserving the building's layered history with reimagining it as an engaging learning environment where students can celebrate Spanish culture and traditions. - Miguel Fernández-Galiano
  2. Every window, door, moulding and ornament have been carefully restored, while vaulted ceilings and wooden beams have been retained to celebrate its characteristic features and preserve the building’s passage of time. - Miguel Fernández-Galiano
  3. Local culture inspires the spatial layout and flow of the building, with common areas devoted to socializing named ‘Tapas’ – referencing the Spanish tradition of conversing around the table – versus relaxation zones denoted ‘Siesta Spaces’. - Miguel Fernández-Galiano
  4. While this zoning strikes a balance between productivity and wellbeing, its reinterpretation of aspects of the Spanish lifestyle also contextualizes the language school within its local environs. - Miguel Fernández-Galiano
  5. Walls are painted in a contrasting palette of burgundy, blue and green. - Miguel Fernández-Galiano
  6. Greenery and modern custom furniture throughout – complemented by pops of pattern found in elements like the checkerboard floors – create a sense of freshness and vitality in the historic site. - Miguel Fernández-Galiano
  7. With its primary ambition to restore the essence of the Renaissance-style building, which was constructed between the late 18th and early 19th centuries, El Departamento emphasizes a ‘dialogue between old and new’. - Miguel Fernández-Galiano
  8. The renovation ensures the building’s historic character enhances, rather than conflicts with, the modern space. - Miguel Fernández-Galiano
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  1. El Departamento balanced preserving the building's layered history with reimagining it as an engaging learning environment where students can celebrate Spanish culture and traditions. - Miguel Fernández-Galiano
  2. Every window, door, moulding and ornament have been carefully restored, while vaulted ceilings and wooden beams have been retained to celebrate its characteristic features and preserve the building’s passage of time. - Miguel Fernández-Galiano
  3. Local culture inspires the spatial layout and flow of the building, with common areas devoted to socializing named ‘Tapas’ – referencing the Spanish tradition of conversing around the table – versus relaxation zones denoted ‘Siesta Spaces’. - Miguel Fernández-Galiano
  4. While this zoning strikes a balance between productivity and wellbeing, its reinterpretation of aspects of the Spanish lifestyle also contextualizes the language school within its local environs. - Miguel Fernández-Galiano
  5. Walls are painted in a contrasting palette of burgundy, blue and green. - Miguel Fernández-Galiano
  6. Greenery and modern custom furniture throughout – complemented by pops of pattern found in elements like the checkerboard floors – create a sense of freshness and vitality in the historic site. - Miguel Fernández-Galiano
  7. With its primary ambition to restore the essence of the Renaissance-style building, which was constructed between the late 18th and early 19th centuries, El Departamento emphasizes a ‘dialogue between old and new’. - Miguel Fernández-Galiano
  8. The renovation ensures the building’s historic character enhances, rather than conflicts with, the modern space. - Miguel Fernández-Galiano
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Location
Map pointer Passatge de Méndez Vigo, L'Eixample, 08009 Barcelona, Spain
Design
El Departamento
Client
Expanish Language School
Floor Area
900 sq-m

El Departamento transformed Barcelona’s historic Casa Degli Italiani building into a vibrant new home for the Expanish language school. 

Key Features 

El Departamento balanced

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