About

Persiana Barcelona is a firm set up in 2014 by the architects Diana Usón and Pau Sarquella to market the traditional wooden-slat roller blind, the persiana alacantina, that they have revisited and designed.

Ever since, the Persiana Barcelona team, with its architects and specialized technicians, has worked locally and internationally to accompany and advised both individuals and professionals in architecture, interior design and construction in the process of purchasing, adapting and installing the product in a wide range of spaces and buildings, both in- and outdoor, public and private, including housing and installations.

The experience of professionals and constant improvement of the product

The firm works with manufacturers and professionals with a long track record in the outdoor roller blind sector, bringing the experience of their trade to innovate and constantly improve the product, researching new functions and adaptations to new systems and formats.

The wood, the raw material used to make the slatted blind, comes from the wild pine forests of Soria and is worked locally. The communal management of these pine forests promotes the sustainable development of the territory and makes responsible use of natural resources.

Persiana Barcelona is the result of this collaborative effort: reinterpreting and promoting an element of traditional architecture, artisan woodworking close to the forests of Soria, and the dedication of technicians and craftspeople who, with their trade, guarantee the creation of a quality wood-slat roller blind.

Origins

In 2010, Barcelona City Council and Foment de les Arts i del Disseny (FAD) organized Racons Públics, a competition to rethink and improve 10 overlooked spaces in the city. Persiana Barcelona is the result of the winning entry, “De dins a fora” (From the inside out), presented by the then architecture students Pau Sarquella and Diana Usón.

Recovering comfort to homes and improving their façades

The winning proposal replaced the unfortunate plastics that used to hang from the façades and balconies of Carrer Malnom and Carrer Picalquers, two streets in Barcelona’s Raval district, with wooden-slat roller blinds that also provide protection from water. The comfort and ventilation of the homes are thereby restored, as is the appearance of the façades.

Persiana Barcelona was the result of close observation of an urban reality that extended beyond the Raval, and became a product that aimed to address a problem in the city’s urban landscape. Furthermore, using the roller blind serves to reassert its applicability and its ability to fit into any type of architecture, be it traditional or contemporary.

Presentation at the Vinçon store

The presentation of Persiana Barcelona came in April 2014, on the terrace of the defunct Vinçon store on Passeig de Gràcia, along with an installation presenting samples of the product, announcing the redesign of the cord-activated blind and recalling those that Ramon Casas had painted over a century before in the same location in Barcelona’s Eixample district.

Awards

Persiana Barcelona has received the ADI-FAD Silver Delta Award in recognition of design excellence and the ARQUIA/PRÓXIMA Award for the best project by young Spanish architects. The Jury commented that “the creators of Persiana Barcelona recognise the need to improve a product that is part of the collective imagination, understanding that improving means making a good product even better. With its attention to detail, the Barcelona roller blind fulfils its functions not just at the small scale, but also taking into account how this feature can characterize spaces at a larger scale, and how the blind will harmonize with the city”.