A house in Salamanca

Turnkey full renovation of a 130 m² flat on Calle Salamanca, in Valencia’s Ensanche district: industrial style, recovered exposed brick and one clear brief from the client, daylight in every room.

Project data

• Location: Calle Salamanca, Ensanche (Pla del Remei), Valencia
• Type: flat in an Ensanche building
• Floor area: 130 m²
• Programme: living and dining room, kitchen, open study, guest toilet, two bedrooms sharing a bathroom and a master bedroom with dressing room and en-suite
• Scope of work: full renovation recovering the original structure (exposed brick and steel columns)
• BTTEstudio’s role: turnkey design and build, delivered in 2024

The challenge

A 130 m² flat in the Ensanche with what these buildings usually have: high ceilings, plenty of façade and too many partitions. The client asked for two things that usually clash: as much daylight as possible in every room, and a full programme of three bedrooms, a study, two bathrooms and a guest toilet. And the flat had to have character, not one more neutral white interior.

The solution

Light was solved with glass where there would normally be wall: clerestory glazing above the kitchen and entrance hall partitions, and glazed access to the study and the dressing room. Every room gets light from two sides even if only one faces the street, and the spaces feel larger than they are.

The character came from the structure itself: the exposed brick walls and the steel columns, painted black, were uncovered and recovered, and a palette of beige, white and touches of black was composed on that base. Warm industrial style, not cold.

And practicality: pocket doors turn the kitchen into a laundry or breakfast area as needed, white lacquered units with a Corian worktop and a high corner window multiply the light. The master bathroom has a double shower; the second bathroom, a generous walk-in shower for everyday use.

The result

An attractive, functional home in which the building’s original elements, instead of being hidden, become the argument of the design. As a full renovation built by our own construction company, the client had a single point of contact for design, permits, works and furniture, with a closed budget before starting.

If you have a flat in the Ensanche or Ruzafa and want to recover its original character, see also La Casa de la Pagoda or tell us about your project.