SANTS SOCIAL CENTRE
The rehabilitation project is based on the premise of placing people, the neighbourhood, activities, and social life at the centre of architecture. The proposal transforms a building originally constructed in 1950, deeply altered over time, into a contemporary, flexible, and sustainable facility capable of continuing to serve as an active meeting place, without compromising its memory or urban identity.
The intervention understands the building as a social infrastructure serving the common good, capable of accompanying the community’s evolution over time and generating meaningful user experiences. Originally composed of a ground floor and two upper floors, the project preserves the first structural bay, adds a new upper level, reduces the building depth to create a rear courtyard, and introduces a covered central atrium.
This atrium acts as a climatic regulator, organises circulation, and facilitates orientation within the building. The vegetation incorporated into the atrium, rear courtyard, rooftop extension, and rear façade contributes to environmental comfort by filtering light, softening acoustics, and generating spaces that are more intimate, welcoming, and habitable. Vegetation becomes an architectural element that enhances and humanises the spaces, providing a richer sensory experience and reinforcing the perception of continuity and spaciousness between interior and exterior. The atrium becomes a place where people can meet, share, work, and live, fostering social interaction and everyday relationships.
The new construction is executed using lightweight structures and industrialised systems, with cross-laminated timber floor slabs that reduce environmental impact, optimise construction processes, and minimise interventions on the existing foundations. The dry-construction logic, flexible and demountable, allows spaces to be reorganised and adapted to different uses without compromising structural integrity. The preserved spaces are enhanced through respectful interventions that reinforce the building’s memory, while the new spaces are configured with warm, natural, and low-impact materials, generating comfortable, healthy, and accessible environments.
The ground floor, clearly connected to the courtyards and the atrium, functions as an interior agora, encouraging encounters and exchange among users. The interiors, flexible and adaptable, can accommodate diverse activities without compromising durability or environmental quality. Passive sustainability strategies, such as cross ventilation, solar control, and vegetation, contribute to reducing energy demand and improving thermal and acoustic comfort.
Overall, the rehabilitation of the Sants Social Centre represents a balance between heritage and modernity. The new spaces are flexible, comfortable, and sustainable, while vegetation acts as a central element that enhances spatial quality, strengthens social life, and improves environmental perception. The project transforms a historic building into a facility that connects people and activities, consolidating the Social Centre as a place of encounter and interaction within the neighbourhood. The intervention stands out for its formal, functional, and environmental coherence, demonstrating how rehabilitation can reinforce and regenerate the quality of space, the relationship with the surroundings, and the users’ experience without losing the memory and identity of the building and the neighbourhood.
