the writer’s hideaway

A small apartment near the beach in Barcelona was completely transformed and converted into a studio for the Writers’ Guild of Norway - “Dramatikerforbundet”. With its 30 m2 this writers cave is the perfect size for one person, working there for one week at a time, but bespoke furniture makes space for up to four guests.

The intention behind the interior is to create a white sheet for each guest to personalize. Or, in this case, actually a black sheet, the large sliding partition between the living room and the bedroom doubles as a blackboard that can be used as a notebook, with space for post it notes and chalk timelines. The apartment is free from decorative distractions. The focus is on work, and whatever personal item the guests needs in order to feel at home is removed upon departure, so that the next writer will find the studio clean and ready for her or his to personalize.

The project included the whole process from reorganizing the plan to choosing every interior item down to cutlery and bed sheets – a real key-in-the-door-project.

For this project the Writers’ Guild of Norway in 2013 has awarded the architect with their prize “The Handshake” – “Håndtrykket”, a prize awarded to persons or institutions that has made a considerable contribution to Norwegian dramatic poetry and for the common good through professional or artistic work. We are very happy to interpret this as a sign that the flat is working according to its intentions.