A young family near Barcelona has found their perfect home in a thoughtfully designed brick house that prioritizes natural light, flexible space usage, and sustainable materials. The Barcelona-based architectural firm SIGLA Studio created this 2,260-square-foot residence in Cardedeu, a town northeast of Barcelona, combining practical functionality with timeless aesthetic appeal.
The project, called Acacias, was commissioned by a young couple with two children who were seeking a dramatic change from their previous conventional apartment. Their old home featured clearly divided rooms, poor ventilation, and no connection to the outdoors. The family dreamed of generous spaces, natural light, a garden, and a swimming pool – essentially a new place to live that would grow with them through different phases of family life.
Rather than seeking a spectacular showpiece, the couple wanted something practical, simple, and intelligently built. SIGLA Studio delivered exactly that, creating a home that offers plenty of breathing room amid the daily chaos of family life. The architects explain that the family was looking for a place where they could build their life, with the possibility of adapting to different family life phases over time.
The design draws inspiration from two remarkable architectural precedents. The primary influence came from the Georg Kolbe Museum in Berlin, the former home and studio of sculptor Georg Kolbe. This building, designed by Swiss architect Ernst Rentsch in 1928-1929, impressed the architects with its calm architecture, integrated garden, and the way sculptures harmonize with the building without taking center stage. Most importantly, they were struck by its timelessness.
The second reference was Finnish architect Alvar Aalto's Muuratsalo Experimental House, built in 1952 as his studio and summer house near the Muuratsalo archipelago. This building demonstrated how walls can simultaneously define and protect, and how the relationship with nature doesn't depend on complete openness but on conscious and calm delimitation of living space. Both reference buildings are distinguished by their special brick architecture.
Brick serves as the unifying thread throughout the Acacias house, though these bricks have a distinctly redder tone than their Berlin counterpart. The architects chose to work with expressive local materials, selecting bricks from Forn d'Obra Duran, one of the few remaining active brick kilns in Catalonia that still produces using traditional handcraft methods. As the Catalan firm explains, "The bricks are made as they used to be: from natural clay, slowly dried and fired with wood. No piece is identical to another. This imperfection is part of their beauty. It's a material that creates a beautiful transition from the natural to the built."
Brick was used not only for the walls but also for relief structures, window sills, and outdoor flooring. This material choice reflects SIGLA Studio's general approach to architecture – creating spaces that endure, are environmentally friendly, and age with dignity over time. The architects emphasize their preference for materials that age beautifully, develop special character, and remain resilient without hiding the traces of time.
The biggest challenge in designing the house was working with a very small and narrow plot surrounded by neighbors on both sides. Additionally, the adjacent lots were still undeveloped at the time of planning, so the architects couldn't know what future buildings would look like. Unable to predict how the surroundings would develop, they decided on a low structure that utilizes the entire available ground area, strategically opening it at selected points like a courtyard house.
This approach allowed them to separate from what they couldn't control and create a bright, intimate, and independent interior. The entire floor plan revolves around two areas: the entrance courtyard and the inner courtyard with pool. This arrangement ensures good cross-ventilation and plenty of daylight in all rooms of the house. From the street, the house doesn't reveal that behind it lies a courtyard with swimming pool.
The ground floor contains the main living area with hallway, kitchen, dining and living room, bathroom, laundry room, a multipurpose room, and garage. The protected atmosphere of Acacias follows a rhythm aligned with light. The house is practically flooded with sunlight throughout the day, as the architects report. From early morning until afternoon, light falls into the house from various directions.
The residents are always at the center of this sun's path, able to perceive the changes of light, the change of seasons, and the shadows on the walls. Through this daily experience, their connection to the place is also strengthened. This careful attention to natural light creates an environment where the family can truly feel in tune with the rhythms of nature.
Flexibility was another crucial design aspect for the project. The structure and room layout of the house allow interior spaces to adapt to the changing needs of the residents. Today, the parents might sleep upstairs in the main bedroom with dressing area opposite the two interconnected children's rooms. Tomorrow, they might sleep on the ground floor while the children occupy two rooms that are again connected to each other – so one room can be used for sleeping and the other for playing, learning, or relaxing.
The upstairs can accommodate two large rooms that can be divided into four bedrooms. A central room between them functions as a generous passage space that could also be used for learning, playing, or reading. The option to change rooms or their use over time without renovations or reconstructions is a very contemporary concept, as the architects emphasize.
SIGLA Studio highlights that "The house doesn't prescribe a specific use but opens up possibilities. In a time when everything changes quickly, we advocate for a spatial concept that is not only persistent but can also adapt. One that can meet different life phases, various living forms, and also future generations."
All furniture pieces were selected according to functional criteria, with honest and durable materials that harmonize with the overall concept. The dining area features a table and chairs from Tikamoon, with a Sísí pendant light from Santa & Cole and a rug from DAC Rugs. The living room contains an Akari floor lamp from Vitra, a glass vase by Alvar Aalto, and a painting by Jaume Morató.
The kitchen was custom-made from chestnut wood by SIGLA Studio, with Head Hat Bowl pendant lights over the kitchen island from Santa & Cole. For the room design, the studio used a very reduced and simple material palette: microcement from Ingremic for the ground floor floors, parquet on the upper floor, chestnut wood for built-in furniture, and exposed ceramic vaults on the ceilings. There are no intermediate ceilings or decorative coverings – all details emerged from the construction itself.
The bathrooms feature glazed tiles from Ceràmica Ferrés covering the wall behind the sink, with Nùvol wall lights from Contain and fixtures from Icónico. Bedrooms can be used differently and include cork stools by Jasper Morrison for Vitra, with beds, nightstands, and wardrobes from LUFE. Small table lights are from Santa & Cole, with rice paper pendant lights over beds from Hay and rugs from The Rug Company.
This sustainable design approach ensures that this brick family home will effortlessly endure through time. The reason lies not only in the use of natural and durable materials but also in an authentic and simple aesthetic that appears neither intrusive nor overloaded. The home offers additional benefits: the spaces can be used in versatile ways and are supplied with light throughout the day. In short, SIGLA Studio, comprised of architects Bernat Riera and Sergi Puig, has succeeded in creating the perfect place for a young family's daily hustle and bustle – with enough room to breathe and grow.
