Most apartments consist of six squares. Only the units in the corners of the building feature 4.5 or 6.5 room modules. These corner apartments can be accessed through a circulation square that is directly connected to the stairwell cores. An access balcony leads residents to a lockable gate and a private balcony in front of the entrances to the other apartments. The private balconies serve both as entrance area and buffer zone. The building concept aims at allocating as many functions as possible to as many areas as possible, while eliminating corridors completely. The architects achieve a degree of spatial largesse that is exceptional in Spanish social housing. Its specifications also permit bedrooms with an area of only 6 m2.
Peris + Toral provide all apartments with light and air from opposite building sides. This facilitates sufficient cross ventilation, air conditioners are not required. Sun protection blinds and grid mesh lattices are mounted to the exterior of the balconies and allow cooling wind to stream along the facades. The mesh features a silvery coating on the outside, where it has a reflective purpose. On the inside, its colour is anthracite, allowing a high degree of transparency.
Aside from the climate concept, the architects also paid attention to sustainability in terms of the structure. It consists of timber sourced from the Basque country. The load bearing structure features cantilevering multi span beams and was designed in order to keep cross sections as minimal as possible. The railings consisting of steel mesh also allowed saving costs. In order to achieve necessary degrees of stiffness, they were canted repeatedly. Expensive welding work was not required.
The layering of spaces is a core aspect of the entire building interior. This can also be experienced from the exterior, where the street space, the covered patio and the interior courtyard establish flowing transitions between public and private spaces. In the coming years, the neighbourhood is also supposed to benefit from the new building. Stores are scheduled to open on the ground floor, a cinema is planned for the basement spaces. A cinema had actually been located on the site before, and the residents demanded a new one from the municipality. It is not quite clear yet when the municipality as operator will have access to funding.
