Barcelona-La Verneda (ES)

SITE / CONTEXT

The project site, a plot of 2,369 m2, is located in the Sant Martí district, in the Verneda neighbourhood of Barcelona, very close to the future Sagrera Intermodal Station and the linear park that will cover the railway tracks. The plot that constitutes the project area is classified as a fa- cility and is located in a transitional position between two very different urban fabrics. On the one hand, it is surrounded by high-rise social housing buildings from the 1960s and, on the other, bordering the Prim Sector, an area of conversion from industrial to residential use. The future Sagrera Intermodal Station and its linear park, currently under construction, will have a great influence on the project area as they will reconfigure mobility both on a local scale and on an urban and interurban scale, will allow the union of neighbourhoods historically separated by the railway wall, as well as the urban recovery of the railway and industrial land.
The plot is owned by INCASÒL since 1985, when its ownership was transferred by the Ministry of Trade Unions through the resolution of RD 1009/1985 transferring the functions and services of the State to the Government of Catalonia in the matter of building and public promotion of housing.
Currently, according to the municipal barometer poll for the second half of 2024, the problem of access to housing is the number one concern for Barcelona residents. This housing need in Barcelona extends to a more or lesser extent throughout Catalonia. The constant increase in housing prices in recent years has not been proportional to the improvement in family incomes, a disproportion that has created serious difficulties for families to meet the costs of housing. To increase the supply of public housing, the Government of Catalonia is promoting the 50,000 Plan, a public housing programme that plans to increase public housing by 50,000 units by 2030.
Within this framework, INCASÒL proposes the use of this plot for the construction of a minimum of 60 housing units, together with a public facility on the ground floor of the building. Several reflections are proposed to the project:
The strategic position of the plot as a nexus between two clearly differentiated neighbourhoods requires a reflection on the planning of the plot, from the position of the building to the development of the free space for pu- blic use as an element of social and urban integration.
-Given the housing emergency, it is necessary to minimise the development execution time.
-In the same sense, given the current climate emergency, as an administration, there is a commitment to projects whose construction and life cycle minimise their environ- mental impact.

QUESTIONS TO COMPETITORS

How can we adapt the spatial and functional organisation of housing to today's lifestyles?
How can we reduce construction time of new housing developments?
How can we reduce the environmental impact of new housing developments?
How do we place the new building on the plot so that it integrates optimally with its surroundings?
How can be designed the free space on the plot to enhance its use as a space for social relations and an integrating element of the environment?
How can the design of the facilities contribute to solving the accessibility problems of the area, taking into account its relationship with the current and planned urban axes?
How can the future building be related to the facilities of the Casa de Barri de la Verneda?