The Architecture and Creative Restoration of h3o architects: In the heart of Barcelona’s Gràcia district, a 19th-century gem is reborn, respecting the soul that captivated directors like Carla Simón
Some houses are not just dwellings, but guardians of imaginary stories. Casa Plató, located in the vibrant Gràcia neighborhood of Barcelona, is one of them. The firm h3o architects (founded by Adrià Orriols, Joan Gener, and Miquel Ruiz) has recently completed a redevelopment project on a late 19th-century residence that served, for decades, as one of the most beloved sets in Spanish cinema.
The design challenge arose from a fascinating tension: making the house comfortable for modern living without erasing that “suspended in time” aura that hosted films by Carla Simón and Carlos Marques-Marcet. The result perfectly embodies the philosophy of the architecture and creative restoration of h3o architects, where the intervention is not a break from the past, but a respectful and playful continuation of its history.
Domestic Archaeology in the Heart of Gràcia
The house is a “time capsule” preserving original gardens, moldings, and period furnishings. The architects approached the project with surgical precision, analyzing films shot within these walls to understand how the spaces were perceived through the lens.
The intervention focused on three main strategies:
- Historic Kitchen: Expanded yet kept faithful to the original, where painted wooden furniture and a marble sink coexist with new geometric elements and warm lighting.
- “Cinematic” Bathroom: A new space inspired by the hygienist aesthetics of the 1930s, characterized by white mosaics, wavy forms recalling Modernism, and a theatrical circular shower enclosed by a perimeter curtain.
- Light and Secrets: To illuminate the heart of the house, new openings were created, including a pivoting circular window and a “picture-window” that hides the view behind a false frame, evoking the secret passages of ancient aristocratic homes.
Preserving the Soul of the Place
The dining room remains the most iconic space: a “fossilized” room that keeps its wallpaper, historic radiators, and hydraulic mosaic floors intact. Here, the architecture and creative restoration of h3o architects manifests in the reuse of original materials: repositioned marble slabs, antique doors moved without adding new ones, and pendant lamps transformed into sconces.
The garden—one of the last green lungs of the neighborhood with its grotesque-style fountains and goose shelters—remains protected behind the high boundary wall, preserving its character as an urban village. Casa Plató demonstrates that it is possible to inhabit history without betraying it, transforming every architectural gesture into a scene from a movie yet to be written.
Photo Simone Marcolin
Below are some images of the house before the renovation.
