Modest Ulier is a minimal refurbishment located in Lleida, Catalonia, designed by Solanellas Van Noten Meister in collaboration with Rosa Solanellas arquitectes. The aim of the refurbishment at Casa Modest Ulier was to accommodate an old apartment to the needs of the clients by reorganizing its spaces, allowing more flexibility in its inhabitation, and by providing new kitchen and bathrooms. Casa Modest Ulier represents one of the finest examples of realist Catalan architecture of the fifties and the intervention aimed to maintain the existing qualities and to draw new ideas based on the as found.

Well known for its sequences of rooms and its cladded facade, the proposal introduces new connections between rooms, allowing different circulations inside the apartment, long views and a perception of a big space through enfilades. Referring to its materiality, the original metal window frames and the black marble skirting were refitted and reused, while existing colors and compositions of the facade were reintroduced and reworked as themes for the areas of the kitchen and the bathrooms. The refurbishment at Casa Modest Ullier represents an exploration in working with an existing building at a small scale, being respectful with what is there, focusing on the detail and the definition of a domestic space, comfortable for its new users and in-tune with its cultural and historical values.

Photography by Roshan Adhihetty