historical

Here, a walkway overlooks the gym below. "Inside this building, you can sense and see its past," says the homeowner. "You don't forget that you're living in an old coach house."

As if undertaking an archaeological dig, architect Carles Oliver peels back layers of his home over the course of three years. Cities that are inundated by tourists, such as Palma de Mallorca, Spain, can suffer severe housing shortages that call for the reappropriation of unused space. Architect Carles Oliver undertook just this task, rehabbing an old, empty building with a budget of just over $21,000. Through an urban sharecropping contract, the work on the home was done in exchange for three years of rent.

One of his main goals was to respect the original structure of the building and renovate it in a sustainable way with eco-friendly, recyclable materials.

Faux timber doors, painted black, along with a brick facade help the dwelling blend with its surroundings: the Victorian homes of the Moseley neighborhood in Birmingham, UK.