![Dirk and the chocolate Factory by Anna & Eugeni Bach](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2020/03/dirk-and-the-chocolate-factory-anna-eugeni-bach-architecture-spanish-houses-residential_dezeen_2364_hero-852x479.jpg)
Anna and Eugeni Bach convert former chocolate factory into home and studio
Architecture studio Anna and Eugeni Bach has converted a 19th-century chocolate factory in the Spanish town of La Bisbal into a family home and studio apartment.
Called Dirk and the Chocolate Factory after its owner, the architects preserved many interior details.
![Dirk and the chocolate Factory by Anna & Eugeni Bach](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2020/03/dirk-and-the-chocolate-factory-anna-eugeni-bach-architecture-spanish-houses-residential_dezeen_2364_col_3-852x905.jpg)
Located in the town's centre, a series of minimal modifications to the small brick and stone-clad warehouse created living spaces.
These open onto reimagined external areas for the home.
![Dirk and the chocolate Factory by Anna & Eugeni Bach](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2020/03/dirk-and-the-chocolate-factory-anna-eugeni-bach-architecture-spanish-houses-residential_dezeen_2364_col_6-852x360.jpg)
Each floor of the three-storey structure already featured a different construction technique, so Anna and Eugeni Bach sought to showcase these distinctive elements with their alterations.
On the ground floor, metal beams support a series of brick Catalan vaults.
![Dirk and the chocolate Factory by Anna & Eugeni Bach](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2020/03/dirk-and-the-chocolate-factory-anna-eugeni-bach-architecture-spanish-houses-residential_dezeen_2364_col_1-852x852.jpg)
These vaults run above a large living, kitchen and dining space.
This area opens onto a new patio area with a pool through a run of tall, thin doors.
![Dirk and the chocolate Factory by Anna & Eugeni Bach](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2020/03/dirk-and-the-chocolate-factory-anna-eugeni-bach-architecture-spanish-houses-residential_dezeen_2364_col_7-852x952.jpg)
White counter tops, storage and new fittings such as sockets have been installed directly against the exposed stone walls.
Above, the metal structure supports a wooden framework ceiling.
![Dirk and the chocolate Factory by Anna & Eugeni Bach](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2020/03/dirk-and-the-chocolate-factory-anna-eugeni-bach-architecture-spanish-houses-residential_dezeen_2364_col_9-852x1031.jpg)
This upper level of more compartmentalised bedrooms is divided by white partition walls.
Walls stop short of this roof structure to create clerestory-style areas of glazing.
![Dirk and the chocolate Factory by Anna & Eugeni Bach](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2020/03/dirk-and-the-chocolate-factory-anna-eugeni-bach-architecture-spanish-houses-residential_dezeen_2364_col_8-852x637.jpg)
Above in the independent studio apartment, large wooden logs support a thin brick slab finished with a ceramic tile roof.
A large living, dining and kitchen space at this level mirrors the ground floor layout.
![Dirk and the chocolate Factory by Anna & Eugeni Bach](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2020/03/dirk-and-the-chocolate-factory-anna-eugeni-bach-architecture-spanish-houses-residential_dezeen_2364_col_10-852x936.jpg)
In the northern corner sits a double bedroom.
Each level is connected by the existing staircase of the warehouse, with an additional staircase added at the opposite end of the building.
![Dirk and the chocolate Factory by Anna & Eugeni Bach](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2020/03/dirk-and-the-chocolate-factory-anna-eugeni-bach-architecture-spanish-houses-residential_dezeen_2364_col_12-852x852.jpg)
"[The new staircase] allows multiple and flexible uses of both common spaces and rooms," said the practice.
"In this way, the owner's different members of the family can enjoy a part of the house with a good level of privacy and autonomy."
![Dirk and the chocolate Factory by Anna & Eugeni Bach](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2020/03/dirk-and-the-chocolate-factory-anna-eugeni-bach-architecture-spanish-houses-residential_dezeen_2364_col_11-852x1080.jpg)
On the northern edge of the patio, a lower block houses an additional kitchen space that opens onto an external dining area alongside the pool.
Topped by a new steel-framed roof structure, a suspended concrete staircase leads up to a new roof terrace atop this single-storey element.
![Dirk and the chocolate Factory by Anna & Eugeni Bach](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2020/03/dirk-and-the-chocolate-factory-anna-eugeni-bach-architecture-spanish-houses-residential_dezeen_2364_col_4-852x1002.jpg)
This terrace is shaded by a series of angular bamboo canopies that give the roof a distinctive silhouette.
Contrasting the rough, earthy tones of the existing structure, pale green has been used to accent doors, window frames and this new steelwork.
![Dirk and the chocolate Factory by Anna & Eugeni Bach](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2020/03/dirk-and-the-chocolate-factory-anna-eugeni-bach-architecture-spanish-houses-residential_dezeen_2364_col_5-852x909.jpg)
Previous projects by Anna and Eugeni Bach include a home combining a traditional stone-clad form with a skeletal steel framework, and the renovation of an apartment in Barcelona that features a desk hanging from the ceiling.
Photography is by Eugeni Bach.
Project credits:
Architects: Anna and Eugeni Bach
Project architect: Charline Boks