In the shadow of Gaudi, Toyo Ito's Barcelona hotel design stirs up controversy.

When contemplating Toyo Ito's new Suites Avenue hotel facade from the roof of Antonio Gaudi's La Pedrera, a number of local architects could be overheard expressing their profound disappointment in Ito's contribution to the streetscape. On the glamorous Passeig de Gracia, widely accepted as one of the city's finest avenues (populated by buildings by Gaudi, Lluis Domenech i Montaner and Josep Puig i Cadafalch), Ito's contribution was considered by some to be an unwelcome guest. Seen as little more than a thinly veiled marketing ploy to exploit the fact that interest in the Japanese architect is set to rise considerably as his two towers in exhibition complex Fira de Barcelona near completion. the disapproval was palpable. At that time, their argument seemed quite reasonable, especially in consideration of our context, with comparisons being made between the wafer-thin steel facade across the street and the massive load-bearing structure on which we stood. Returning to meet the project architect one month later, however, offered an opportunity to clarify the context of the project and to better understand Ito's very particular response to the brief.

The project is in fact not an Ito building at all, but rather a very small component of an extensive refurbishment project for a hotel chain, Derby Hotels Collection. Wanting to create new luxury accommodation, they decided to keep the existing office building, not merely to preserve its functional structure but more importantly to retain the benefit of the top-floor roof terrace. Had a new build been proposed in this location, a terrace at that level would almost certainly have been refused, due to recently enforced height restrictions. As it is, residents of Suites Avenue not only have an enviable view of La Pedrera through Ito's perforated screen, but when on the roof, turning 90[degrees] in either direction reveals spectacular panoramic views towards the sea and to Barcelona's distinctive mountainous border to the north.

Ito designed two surfaces: this screen--constructed from 8mm Cor-ten--and a reflective and rippled glass lining for the building's retained lightwell. featuring a similar pattern to that on the facade. As explained by project architect Makoto Fukuda, Ito's original designs went through rigorous conservation consultation, with his first proposals rejected on grounds of mimicking Gaudi too closely. His final design was deliberately lightweight both in terms of its detailed execution, and also in relation to the porosity of the screen as a whole.

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Fabricated in full-width sections, the screen was welded on site. It was then sprayed with a metallic paint containing a pink pearlescent tint that renders the surface incredibly responsive to Catalan daylight. Bearing up well under the sun's unforgiving scrutiny, its finish is likened by Fukuda to that of a car. On the internal face, a more simple matt finish in dark grey has been applied, matching the glazing system (by others) and helping to create coherent external rooms for each of the apartments that enjoy this street-front location--making it the ideal place to sit and wonder at the splendour of one of Gaudi's finest buildings and, for those who are not fans, the ideal place from where to avoid seeing Ito's controversial response to context.

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