‘social housing tower in plaza europa’ by roldán + berengué in barcelona, spainall images courtesy roldán + berenguéphotographer: 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.

roldán + berengué: social housing tower in plaza europaexterior 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.

roldán + berengué: social housing tower in plaza europafacade

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.

roldán + berengué: social housing tower in plaza europainterior street

roldán + berengué: social housing tower in plaza europatransparent public corridor

roldán + berengué: social housing tower in plaza europaelevation

roldán + berengué: social housing tower in plaza europaconstruction shot

roldán + berengué: social housing tower in plaza europawithin context

roldán + berengué: social housing tower in plaza europarendered view

roldán + berengué: social housing tower in plaza europa

roldán + berengué: social housing tower in plaza europamodel study

roldán + berengué: social housing tower in plaza europaviews for each storey

roldán + berengué: social housing tower in plaza europavisual studies

roldán + berengué: social housing tower in plaza europafacade sequences

roldán + berengué: social housing tower in plaza europasite plan

roldán + berengué: social housing tower in plaza europafloor plan / level 0

roldán + berengué: social housing tower in plaza europatypical floor plan

roldán + berengué: social housing tower in plaza europafacades(from left to right) north-east, north-west, south-west, south-east

roldán + berengué: social housing tower in plaza europaexploded 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