A Barcelona Designer Reimagines a Factory Loft For His Family—With "Absolutely No Doors"

Gabriele Schiavon’s vision for a recently closed thermal mold workshop involved a strict set of rules: maintain the industrial feel and keep a fluid layout.

Sep 10, 2024 - 15:34
A Barcelona Designer Reimagines a Factory Loft For His Family—With "Absolutely No Doors"

Gabriele Schiavon’s vision for a recently closed thermal mold workshop involved a strict set of rules: maintain the industrial feel and keep a fluid layout.

Gabriele Schiavon needed a place to live. After a breakup, the cofounder and creative director of the Barcelona-based design studio Lagranja needed enough space to co-parent the two children, Teo and Ona, then 9 and 13, he has with his ex. "I looked around Barcelona’s trendy inner areas and couldn’t find anything that I even minimally liked that was in my budget," he remembers. Feeling slightly desperate, he searched online for an affordable but sizable property for sale. In the outer-limits barrio of Bellvitge, a recently vacated thermal mold workshop popped up.

The kitchen is the heart of the home created by designer Gabriele Schiavon for himself and his children, Ona and Teo, in a former thermal mold factory on the outskirts of Barcelona. The renovation included the addition of a bridge-like mezzanine within the light-filled space.

The kitchen is the heart of the home created by designer Gabriele Schiavon for himself and his children, Ona and Teo, in a former thermal mold factory on the outskirts of Barcelona. The renovation included the addition of a bridge-like mezzanine within the light-filled space.

Photo by Coke Bartina

When Gabriele toured the space, he was struck by three massive arched windows carved into the upper part of the front facade below a pitched roof. "The composition immediately reminded me of the AT&T Building," says Gabriele, referring to Philip Johnson’s postmodern tower in New York City. The listing was for the third floor, above an existing dance studio. Upon entering, he saw that the windows not only embraced a wide, uninterrupted sky, but would also drench the interior in natural light. Minutes later, he realized that a potential living room in the 2,300-square-foot space was also large enough to accommodate his beloved Nanimarquina rug. His mind was made up.

The factory’s dividing walls were removed, leaving a

The factory’s dividing walls were removed, leaving a "square doughnut," as Gabriele puts it—a continuous flow around the central landing. The renovation took just four months. "The whole thing was done with very little cost in materials and time," he says, "but in the studio we are used to working like that."

Photo by Coke Bartina

A communal washbasin sits outside a pair of bathrooms on the main level. The deep green, seen throughout the loft, started with a joint decision about the kitchen cabinets.

A communal washbasin sits outside a pair of bathrooms on the main level. The deep green, seen throughout the loft, started with a joint decision about the kitchen cabinets. "I selected three colors from the laminate catalog, and my kids and my girlfriend, Carmen, voted," says Gabriele. "They chose petrol bluish green."

Photo by Coke Bartina

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