Speculative Housing and Artisan Craft

At the corner of Carrer de la Neu and Carrer Mercaders, this multi-family block from 1914 represents another collaboration with paper manufacturer Joan Salieti. Unlike the grand family palau nearby, this building was constructed as speculative urban rental housing. Masó elevated the standard apartment block by embedding local ceramic artistry into its exterior facade. Examine the transition from the ashlar stone base up to the smooth plaster upper storeys. Embedded along the walls are green-glazed spiral tiles, known locally as rajoles de mamelló, crafted by ceramist Joan Baptista Coromina of nearby La Bisbal. Through these subtle decorative flourishes, Masó demonstrated how Noucentisme could bring artistic dignity to middle-class rental architecture.