Projects

The social dimension of housing. The Building 111 in Barcelona explores and experiments with the idea of promoting communication, relationships and familiarity so that the neighbourhood can act as the core social structure within society, reverting the tendency toward isolation and individuality. The centre of the project is a large empty space containing three trees and a fountain, surrounded by balconies and terraces overlooking it. Here the local residents live their lives outside on their balconies in order to socialize or to enjoy the views through the enormous opening that frames the Torrebonica Park. This communal patio is a platform for social gatherings where people from a wide variety of backgrounds and cultures talk together. This central patio is reached through an opening in the large outer wall that defines the building from the street. The route from the street to the individual houses, passing through this large patio, is modulated by a sequence of scales, progressively moving from the most open and public spaces all the way to the intimacy and privacy of the home. To enrich the distinction between public and private space, the closures are blurred and opened out in superimposed folds which reconcile both extremes. From one end to the other, from the bedroom to the street, the route is constantly varied. Family greetings intermingle with those of their neighbours in the patio, making the space an extension of the “hearth”, somewhere friends and acquaintances can share their daily lives in a second circle of intimacy.