Green Living in Barcelona

Tags:: Architecture; Kitchen; Office; Hallway; Bedroom; Bathroom; Living Room

For some, living “green” is all about making a statement. But for Petz Scholtus, it boils down to common sense. The eco-designer was raised on a farm in Luxembourg, and she’s brought a feeling for the natural world to her residence in Barcelona, Spain. “Growing up on a farm influenced my ideas,” she explains. “There it was all about life cycles, materials that flow, eating, composting, growing...”

Scholtus, who also runs her own sustainable-products studio, Pöko Design, moved to Barcelona in 2004. Three years later, she and her partner, Sergio Carratala, a structural engineer, found a nearly-625-square-foot apartment in an 18th-century building at the heart of the Barri Gòtic.

Their plan was simple: Use eco-friendly and recycled materials, reduce water and energy consumption and create as little waste as possible. While sacrificing neither aesthetics nor comfort, Scholtus has accomplished that and more. There are cabinets made from wooden wine boxes, cork floors installed without glue, PVC-free pipes, secondhand furniture and even a worm-composting enterprise on one of the tiny balconies. No detail was too insignificant—witness the Staple-Free Stapler in the office.

— Kelly Vencill Sanchez

In renovating the Barcelona apartment she shares with Sergio Carratala, Petz Scholtus was guided by what she calls the “5 Rs” of eco-design: reuse, reduce, recycle, restore, respect.

Photo by: Neckel Scholtus.

Photo by: Carmen Masia Martorell

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