Q&A with Clara Lleal Interiorista: Art in Residential Design

In this week’s interview with 2022 SBID Awards’ Overall Winner, Clara Lleal Interiorista, Clara Lleal explains how they achieved displaying a number of different art pieces in a cohesive design, and discusses the experience of working on a space for an artist.

Art Gallery House is located in the historic centre of Badalona, a city near Barcelona. The brief was to strategically place the sculptures created by the owner of the house himself, the artist and sculptor Juanma Noguera. In short, an Art Gallery house.

Firstly, tell us a bit about the design of your project. What were the key ideas, concepts and processes behind it?

One of the challenges when it came to the layout of the project was to strategically place the sculptures created by the owner of the house himself, the artist and sculptor Juanma Noguera. In terms of general aesthetics, the idea was to give the whole space an industrial atmosphere, maintaining and recovering the building’s original materials. The solid brick walls were uncovered, the vaulted iron-beamed ceilings were respected, and areas with the original hydraulic pavement were maintained.

The materials used subsequently also follow this industrial premise, concrete, black iron sheet, herringbone floor of recovered wood, and teak wood furniture to break the cold of the greys.

The construction of the house dates back to the 19th century, coinciding with the industrial period in Catalonia. Therefore, the house has many architectural elements typical of that period, which we wanted to maintain and even restore. The walls were chipped to leave the brickwork exposed, the original cast iron columns were restored, the hydraulic mosaic floor tiles of Mediterranean origin were kept, and the Catalan vaulted ceilings were left exposed. In short, we wanted to recover the industrial essence of the house and give it value.

What was your biggest takeaway or highlight from completing this project?

One of the main challenges was to gain natural light. It must be said that in an area of 200m2 there was only one window. Skylights were opened in the roof and in the inner courtyards, as many openings as possible were made so that the house would be bathed in light. We wanted to convey the feeling of wellbeing and warmth that natural light provides. In addition, from the beginning we wanted to include a lot of natural vegetation that can only live with light.

Another challenge was that the spaces were very large and there was a risk that they would not be welcoming, which was of paramount importance to the client. With the combination of materials such as teak wood and dark colors, a cozy atmosphere was definitely achieved.

What has winning an SBID Award meant for you and your business?

It was a big honor and symbolic for me. It was the first big international contest where I had taken part, and I can confirm that is also one of the few contests that is honest and where it is very difficult to get an award. That is why I cannot describe how happy I was when I heard my name. It was amazing!

For my business, winning this award represents an excellent opportunity to take a leap to grow and be able to access more interesting projects, and perhaps even have the opportunity to expand my business abroad.

You managed to display a lot of artworks of different mediums, while also using a few open storage units. How did you achieve this without the space looking cluttered?

The placement of the art pieces was well thought out from the beginning, and in fact the distribution was based on the strategic placement of each one of them. Initially we knew which pieces were going to be exhibited, so we only needed to determine where each one was going to be placed and design a setting and lighting to make them stand out. In this way, even though they are of different formats, the paintings and sculptures keep a visual order within the space as a whole as part of the same design.

Have you, as a creative, learned anything new from designing a home for an artist?

Perhaps I have learned to better appreciate works of art in general, but especially sculptures. Personally I have always liked the world of art and crafts and whenever I can I try to include works of art in the projects. Since I was a child I have practiced artistic painting in different techniques and ceramics is one of my hobbies.

In the case of this house, I have been able to work with some sculptures that I really like, pieces created exclusively to be observed and beautify the place where they are located. It is clear that the design, without these sculptures and paintings would not have the same result.

How did you find the process of working with an artist? Did they have their own vision of the space? Do you think the design process is easier or more difficult, if a client is set on a specific design concept?

The design process with the artist Juanma Noguera, the owner of the space, was very easy. This was the third project I had done with him, and not by chance, because aesthetically we speak the same language. Working with a client with this profile makes the work of choosing colors and combining materials and textures much easier, because his aesthetic sense is highly developed. I would insist, then, that part of the success of this project is due to his good taste and the inclusion of his artwork, which, by the way, is beautiful.

Questions answered by Clara Lleal, Creative Director, Clara Lleal INTERIORISTA.