Patio, Alexandra Hotel

I. Overview

This is the latest refurbishment project undertaken in a building that houses a hotel, part of a refurbishment programme, which started in 2006, and carried out in different phases. The work involves the refurbishment of the external area of the courtyard, a typical block of Cerdà’s Growth Plan of Barcelona.

II. Inner block courtyard

The existing area did not have any solid structural elements to undertake an intervention of this nature. By taking advantage of the integral refurbishment of the lower floor it was possible to carry out a structural reinforcement of the slabs. Many of the decisions made for the project are based on this. In the green space at the back, large stainless steel planters on iron beams have been accommodated. To merge the landscape, a galvanised torsion wire mesh has been placed over this layer, so plants can creep up to cover all the area. The intermediate green roof has been landscaped as a green roof.

III. Latticework

The latticework is completed with two lower brickwork benches, one for the bar and another one for the sundeck. Four different types of bonding have been used. The swimming pool wall has been built using stretcher bond, embossing the brickwork in an alternate manner; open stretcher and header bond have been used in the two intermediate walls, while traditional stretcher bond has been applied to the new section of the internal room.