Social Housing in Poble Nou
Housing building located in Poble Nou district, Barcelona. Projected during 3rd year studio project in Jordi Badia’s workshop.
The origin of the project is the formal definition of the empty space. Three squares linked together define the shape of the public space. When dealing with the built-up area we merely edify in the obvious gaps. These three squares represent a void inside a full intentionally dense.
The new public space seeks to recover some old values found in Italian Renaissance squares and what these involved: the lost habit of inhabiting public space. We considered square’s orthogonal shape as a value to keep. Building’s shape is adapted to the square’s shape.
Building’s structure plays an important role in the perception of the interiors. Through a structure of cross-shaped concrete pillars we generate a pace across diverse rooms. The dwellings come from the repetition of square rooms to which you always access through the center of one of the sides. This succession of spaces along with the design of the joinery, the treatment of colors and textures reminds us to a classic way of understanding housing,
On ground floor we find dwellings in the outer perimeter with privacy guaranteed due to a level change. In the inner perimeter we find stores, bars, offices and workshops, which bring life into the three squares.
In the facade design we considered the existing context and carefully selected from it the conditions we wanted to nurture and protect in contrast with the conditions we wanted to change through architecture. We’ve been able to balance a language that belongs to the place with one that is refreshingly foreign.
We were also asked to propose an intervention in the buildings found in front of our plot. These are a complex of eight towers build during the 50’s commonly known as Tupolevs.
We wanted our intervention to be as respectful as possible. The act of "hiding" the Tupolevs under a net, invites the viewer to revalue the building underneath, the space and the time in which it exists. Without losing power, the building becomes fragile where once it was robust, lightweight where once it was rough and heavy.
