Fernando Poo is a project that reinterprets the ground floor of a building constructed in the late 19th century in the Poble Nou neighborhood of Barcelona, turning it into a hybrid space. This project is part of the theoretical and practical research “Designing the Void”, which advocates for transforming the conception of housing, moving away from considering it as a commodity defined by its market value to understanding it as an infrastructure defined by its potential for use.

Today, more than ever, production transcends the boundaries that, since the beginning of modernity, have separated domestic space from the workplace. However, despite technological changes, social instability, and new ways of living and working, domesticity still predominates in its more traditional form of a family home.

Fernando Poo is our studio-home, so we start with the premise of designing a space capable of transforming both in the short and long term. In this proposal, architecture is conceived as a framework or support whose void ensures adaptability, acting as a catalyst for new forms of domesticity that transcend traditional dichotomies between living and working.

We begin with a completely open space without traces of past memories, opting to remove all superficial wall coverings to reveal the original construction materials and, at the same time, prevent the wall moisture by favoring transpiration.

In the project, two strategies texted in previous proposals have been combined. The functional program and storage are concentrated along the perimeter, thereby freeing up the rest of the surface. Simultaneously, a detached volume is raised, serving as a filter between different spaces, containing the bathroom, part of the kitchen, and movable panels that allow the space to be segregated according to changing needs throughout the day. Based on the definition and arrangement of these elements, what we call “the minimum means to inhabit a place,” a series of unplanned voids are established with the potential to accommodate different uses.

On the other hand, the opening of the rear facade, facilitating continuity between the interior and exterior, and the use of light tones and brushed aluminum in the detached volume aim to maximize brightness in what would otherwise be a relatively dark space.