The best public housing is conceived, and planned, from the inside out. The design of such apartment buildings should be driven by a deep knowledge of the inhabitants’ specific needs as well as a desire to create a sense of place. This housing does not exist in a vacuum as an iconic structure but, rather, must aim to integrate itself into the existing urban fabric. And, not least, these projects almost always need to heed a tight budget. This is why there are so few examples of extraordinary public housing. Many architects and builders have tried, yet very few have been able to finesse the acrobatics required by all these constraints.
Overcoming the odds, Barcelona-based Peris+Toral Arquitectes has just completed an extraordinary public-housing complex in the municipality of Cornellà, in the Catalonian capital’s outskirts. Holding the distinction of being the largest timber residential building in Spain—a trend rapidly gaining traction here—the social dwellings thoughtfully consider the needs of residents while helping connect them to the neighborhood.
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