On the outskirts of Barcelona, Nave en La Pau is a 1,476-square-foot unit in a warehouse that was previously a printing house. Juan Agustin Iglesias sought to convert the space into a home and office on a super-limited budget of about $38 per square foot, for an overall cost below $200,000. He commissioned local atelier Atienza Maure, founded in 2018 by Alonso Atienza Sánchez and Miguel Ángel Maure Blesa, for the project. The duo responded to the project’s industrial site, and the resulting project celebrates the rough and ready. It largely consists of prefabricated components that were imported and assembled on site by the client and his brother.

Located on the fourth floor between party walls, the project features windows along the north and south facades. No new facade openings were allowed, so to maximize daylight in the space, Atienza Mazure kept an open floorplan. Instead of walls, the home and office spaces are differentiated by wooden boxes. A 1-story platform, circled by soft curtains, acts as a main bedroom. It connects to the nearby 2-story structure, composed of galvanized L-profile shelves, post-tensioned steel trays (which also double as storage), birch plywood cladding, and translucent polycarbonate windows. This volume serves as a guest bedroom or studio.

Steel trays continue beyond the volumes to form a mezzanine, hanging planters, and kitchen storage. With each zone enabling two entry points, the mezzanine grants access between spaces without disturbing work areas or vice versa, while also allowing each space to change function on demand.

The exposed construction not only creates an economical, fluid spatial organization but also reflects the site’s urban surroundings. And throughout the dwelling, plants establish a sense of warmth and creativity.