The popularity of cocoa products is not at all new; quite the contrary with their consumption something frequent in ancient societies. However, this wasn't the case in Europe, where such products arrived only a few centuries ago after Europeans returned from the New World. Perhaps back then, without the addition of sugar like in today's chocolate, the taste was a little different, but no matter what your preferred type of choclate is, everyone would love the idea of living in a chocolate factory.
This is exactly what has been achieved thanks to the work carried out by Anna and Eugeni Bach's architecture studio. They have managed to convert a 19th-century chocolate factory in the Catalan town of La Bisbal d'Empordà into a family home and studio apartment. The project has appropriately been named "Dirk and the chocolate factory", reflecting the title of Roald Dahl's famous children's novel. It's true that, in reality, it's an old factory, but the idea is still very intriguing. "In the heart of the small town of La Bisbal, in a late 19th-century extension that follows two of the main roads into the old town, there is a small warehouse - an old chocolate factory - with a very curious typology, which makes it a very unique space," they state on the website.
The modifications carried out were surprisingly few, since the architects tried to maintain as many original and ancient elements as possible. "The project consists of adapting this initially industrial space for a family that values the character of the original building. In this sense, the project proposes a solution that at all times allows the enjoyment of the original open spaces, introducing small modifications and solutions to be able to contemplate the three ceilings even though the new distribution requires smaller spaces", they state. Because of this, a series of minimal modifications were made to the small brick and stone warehouse, creating living spaces. These open up into external areas reinvented for the home.
Each floor of the three-storey structure already featured a different building technique, so Anna and Eugeni Bach tried to show these distinctive elements with their modifications.
On the ground floor, metal beams support a series of Catalan brick vaults. These vaults extend over a large living room, kitchen and dining room. This area opens up to a new patio area with a swimming pool through a series of tall, slender doors. White countertops, storage and new fixtures such as electrical outlets have also been installed directly against the exposed stone walls.
Above, the metal structure supports a roof made from wooden beams. This upper level of more compartmentalised bedrooms is divided by white partitions and the walls stop close to this ceiling structure to create clear glazed areas.
On the next level there is a separate studio, where large wooden logs support a thin brick slab finished with a ceramic tiled roof. A large living room, dining room and kitchen on this level reflect the layout of the ground floor. In the northern corner there is an addtional double room.
Each level is connected by the existing factory staircase, with an additional staircase added at the opposite end of the building. At the northern edge of the courtyard, a lower block houses an additional kitchen space that opens to an outdoor dining area by the pool. Topped by a new steel-framed roof structure, an addtional suspended concrete staircase leads to a new rooftop terrace above this single-storey element. This terrace is shaded by a series of angular bamboo canopies that give the roof a distinctive silhouette.
In contrast to the rough, earthy tones of the existing structure, pale green has been used throughout the property to accentuate doors, window frames and this new steel structure. Let's begin the tour and have a look inside!
