On Thursday 1 February, the presentation of the book ‘Cohousing in Barcelona. Architecture from / for the Community’ was held in the auditorium of the College of Architects of Catalonia, in the presence of Joan Ramon Riera, the Housing Commissioner of Barcelona City Council, the co-editors of the book and the architects who designed the social housing buildings that are already in operation.
The book, published by the Diputació de Barcelona and Actar, is a compilation of housing projects in transfer of use in the city of Barcelona, explaining, among other things, the participatory process with the communities and the details of the construction. One of the aims of the book was to “make the design process of the projects visible”, according to Marta Bugés, one of the co-editors.
Tomoko Sakamoto – co-editor of the book, architect and resident of La Chalmeta, one of the co-housing buildings in Marina del Prat Vermell – opened the event by mentioning the three aspects that characterise co-housing: affordability, community and shared living, and sustainability (both in terms of building materials and energy efficiency). He also stressed that co-housing can change the way architecture is done, not only in housing but also in other areas.
Joan Ramon Riera, Housing Commissioner of Barcelona City Council, then referred to the city’s housing problem and said that cohousing was “part of the solution”, “breaking the mould” and “promoting different ways of living as opposed to the uniformity of cities”. He concluded his speech by pointing out the importance of this book in the field of architecture.
Cohousing projects in Barcelona
After the opening speeches, the architects of the projects presented each of the buildings, explaining the steps in the construction process, the challenges encountered along the way and the specific features of each block. Have intervened Joan Barba, architect of Princesa49; Ernest Garriga, architect of La Balma and member of Lacol; Sonia Hernàndez-Montaño, organic building consultant of La Chalmeta; Diego Carrillo, architect of Cirerers and member of Celobert; and Lis Figueras, architect of La Xarxaire and member of La Mar d’arquitectes.
All of them appreciated the work of the co-editors and the following common points have been extracted from their presentations:
- Cohousing is a new way of living and building community through self-management and shared spaces.
- Cohousing is closely linked to the defence of the ecological transition and the use of sustainable materials (wood, natural insulation, PVC-free…).
- They promoted participatory processes with the cohousing units during the design of the buildings.
- Obstacles came from the administration.
The following discussion
The second part of the presentation was a round discussion moderated by Ricardo Devesa, architect and coeditor of the book.
When asked about the contribution of cooperative housing, Garriga stressed that it is a “radical and anti-capitalist architecture” and that the construction of this type of housing must be approached “without fear of making mistakes” and with “constant trial and error”. Hernàndez-Montaño hoped that “hopefully there will be more” and Figueras added that cooperative housing “reflects the way of thinking of the people who live there” and that the projects are born from a group of people with a desire to change things and not “from a developer who then wants to sell the homes”, as happens in the traditional housing model. In relation to this point, Barba stated that “the speculative side is not interested in [co-operative housing] succeeding”.
For his part, Carrillo stressed “the importance of empathy” in the design of the project, because it “affects the lives of the people who will live there”, and considered it “a merit” that innovation is taking place in this field “despite the administrative obstacles” that slow the process down.