MENTION CIUTAT DE BARCELONA AWARD | 2003

The building is located in the access to Nou Barris District, where the Ronda de Dalt (the northern ring road of the city) meets Karl Marx Square.

A direct interpretation of planning regulations for the site would have resulted in: a) a massive building 106m long and 9 storeys high; b) a layout composed by four apartments per floor, where rooms would have to ventilate through very high and narrow ventilation shafts.

The proposed scheme is a combination of volumes at different heights, between 15, 11 and 8 storeys. Stair and lift cores are prolonged in order to allocate roof plant areas. The overall result is a building with a double dislocation, both in plan and elevation, all rising above a commercial pediment.

The privileged location of the building and its complex volume suggested the use of a more sophisticated façade system than those used commonly for housing.

The complex volume is emphasised by using pre-cast reinforced concrete panels for the solid parts of the façade, in contrast with all the other light materials used in the openings, such as the metal panelling in the terraces and glass handrails.

All 160 units are served by only three stair and lift cores. Each of those serves up to six units per floor, which results in a very optimized private/public areas ratio