La Masía Trabal: A family project

The family came to the farmhouse, located in a village in Catalonia, four generations ago. In the beginning, the first generation left their home in Barcelona to look for a place near the mountains where they could improve their quality of life. Their son was ill and the doctors recommended them to spend some time in the mountains due to his illness. Nowadays, the two siblings Luis and Mariona and their respective families share this wonderful space.

The farmhouse, like all traditional Catalan farmhouses, had a barn. This, over the years, had lost its usefulness and had become a deteriorated space, half in ruins.

For years and in parallel, Bru and Ona, Luis’ children, and Mariona and her daughter Mar, had dreamed of giving a second life to this place. They knew there was great potential in that space with its high ceilings and large arches. It seemed the perfect place to create a second home so that each family could enjoy their privacy. Several people had presented projects to them, but they were financially unaffordable for their situation.

Finally, in 2021, something happened and the stars aligned. It was time to give life to this wasted space. At the time of Covid-19, the need to create housing that favoured mental health gained importance and meant a before and after in architecture.

On the one hand, Mariona decided to spend her confinement in the farmhouse. During those months confined in that oasis, she understood that that was where she wanted to live until the end of her days. But the farmhouse had many stairs and she knew that, in the long run, that would be a problem. So he decided to convert the barn into a house and build his dream place.

On the other hand, Ona had just returned from a cooperative trip to Athens and wanted to get away from the city. A friend of hers told her that in her home country, Mexico, she had met several people who had built their own houses using their own skills and knowledge. Ona understood that her idea of converting the barn into a house through cooperative and family work and with a low budget was possible. All it took was patience and an open mind.

So both Mariona and Ona, and with the main help of Bru and Mar, decided to do it. Mariona, 70 years old and a teacher, had more economic resources and more experience in life. Ona, 32 years old and an illustrator, was a creative person who had always been very curious about architecture. And Bru, 30, had focused his life on activism and promoting a sustainable lifestyle.

First they needed a building project. They opted to create an open-plan space, with no walls to make the most of natural light. A common feature of Catalan farmhouses is that they tend to face the sun, and this case is no exception. The rest of the decisions were taken with the aim of creating a discreet and modern air while respecting the essence of the masia.

Once the building project was clear, it was time to get down to work.

One of the main urgencies was insulation, as the summer was hot and the winter was very cold. They didn’t know whether to insulate inside or outside. In the end, they opted for the more aesthetic option, keeping the interior insulation in order to preserve the bricks on the exterior wall. However, they decided to keep some pieces in two spaces, the kitchen and the bathroom, to give a more rustic touch.

Both the floor and wall insulation was put in by themselves. They searched through all the options and chose the one they found most sustainable: rock wool.

When they emptied the space they saw that there were bricks on the upper floor that could be reused, so they used them for the kitchen and bathroom floor. They studied different formats for the placement of the pieces and in the end they opted for the shape that was originally in the farmhouse, the herringbone layout.

On an upper wall they found some numbers that also aroused their curiosity. In their time, these numbers were the register used to remember the days and months of straw collection. The feeling of wanting to preserve those elements that tell the history of the place could not fail now. So they decided to trace the numbers in order to reproduce them again once the plasterboard walls that would be used for internal insulation had been put up. To date, this reproduction has yet to be carried out.

A curious fact about the project was the decision to install a dry toilet. Both Ona and Bru, following their interest in a sustainable lifestyle, had visited self-managed spaces and noticed that all these places had something in common, the use of dry toilets. The main characteristic of dry toilets is that they work without water, thus limiting water waste. In addition, the waste can be reused as compost. They learned about this process in detail and attended a course where they could learn step by step how to create their own dry toilet.

Three years later, although the work is practically finished and ready to be inhabited, they still have some details to finish. It is a project that they have enjoyed doing and they are still dedicating time to make it as good as possible. There is no rush.

Most of the work was done by themselves. For example, the staircase was designed and created by Bru and Ona. The perimeter profile, the plasterboard, the windows and the iron door were the only parts carried out by contracted specialists.

With the exception of the kitchen, which was purchased, the rest of the elements were inherited, reused or were gifts from friends who were part of the process. For example, the fireplace was a gift and the bastide was lent by a friend.

Many friends from both generations have collaborated in small details or in large parts of the construction, creating a collaborative network that is registered in the final result and that gives it a more symbolic and sentimental air.

We want to share the story of this farmhouse because projects like this inspire us. We identify and empathise with people who feel the need to look for new, more economical and healthier alternatives. We are moved by projects that follow an architectural perspective where the main focus is the health of the person.