roldán + berengué: social housing tower in plaza europa

'social housing tower in plaza europa' by roldán + berengué in barcelona, spain
all images courtesy roldán + berengué
photographer: jordi surroca


spanish practice roldán + berengué has recently completed 'social housing tower in plaza europa',
a multi-level residential tower in barcelona spain. conceived as part of an urban master plan,
the design manipulates the facade to create a dynamic aesthetic identity as well as offer a variety
of views for the inhabitants.



exterior view


characterized by an elevation that seemingly pushes and pulls the individual units from the main volume,
the design plays with the tower's sense of scale by working in groups of three-storeys. the form is
horizontally defined by these layers through the use of materiality and careful placement of apertures.
offset from the level below, each grouping features a different bar-code like series of windows,
resulting in a controlled set of views. protruding wall thicknesses act like blinkers and further controls
the inhabitants vistas.



facade


the sense of scale of the interior space is also distorted by an over-extension of the ceiling height.
the ground floor is characterized by an interior street corridor which connects the adjacent
pedestrian roads together. fronted with a strip of glazing, this public space serves as a meeting point
for both the inhabitants and the local citizens.



interior street



transparent public corridor



elevation



construction shot



within context



rendered view






model study



views for each storey



visual studies



facade sequences



site plan



floor plan / level 0



typical floor plan



facades
(from left to right) north-east, north-west, south-west, south-east



exploded axo



project info:

total build up area: 10,312.98 m2
apartment units area: 7,660 m2
parking area: 2,660.65 m2

architects: josé miguel roldán, mercè berengué
collaborators: vicenç sanz  / zana bosnic
structure: manuel arguijo
installations: manel comas / javier mateos
technical architect: joan rovira i duran
construction company: CRC obras y servicios