RICARD GALIANA + SERGI PONS + PAU VIDAL
Architects:
Ricard Galiana, Sergi Pons & Pau Vidal
Photos by:
Adrià Goula
Typology: Collective housing for elderly people
Location: Barcelona
Date: 2008
This project is part of the urbanization that is taking place in one of the lots left over after the construction of the Ronda de Barcelona, a bypass road, in 1992. A sports centre, a residential development and an old people’s home will all share the same space, creating a public area that will stretch from the street to a square giving access into the different facilities.
A prominent feature in the city’s northern quarter, Torre Júlia rises up to a height of 17 floors.
There are three areas in the building. Each community has a larger space assigned, where users carry out most of their collective activities. These spaces, the core of the proposed project, figure plainly on the building frontage, which is wrought entirely in concrete and works as a cantilever beam.
Wide corridors overlooking the city, stairs in all outdoor places, double-spaced areas and sun-shaded terraces configure a building that is intended to give elderly people an opportunity to socialize and engage in community activities.