Lacol is an architecture cooperative set up in 2014 in the Sants district (Barcelona). We work with architecture for social transformation, as a tool to intervene in the immediate environment critically. Currently, it is a team of 14 people who work in various fields of architecture. Our lines of work focus on these five axes: Construction; Cooperative Housing; Participation; Exhibitions and Stage Design; and Urbanism.
The main axis of work on which we apply the knowledge of other fields is the cooperative housing. We have specialized in the promotion of this model as well as in the process of participation of the promotion of the future inhabitants. The most relevant case has been the housing cooperative La Borda, where, in addition to carrying out the architectural project, we have participated in its promotion and all the learning process has been systematized through the book “Habitar en comunidad“ (Libros de la Catarata, 2018). We are currently building La Balma, a similar housing cooperative in Poblenou, and accompanying several projects in the promotion phase in other parts of Catalonia. In order to promote and make viable the replicability of the model, we work in the design of public policies, advise municipalities, and give conferences and write articles in different publications. Lacol is part of La Dinamo, a foundation for the consolidation of cooperative housing in Catalonia.