Empriu

Empriu is a transfer-of-use cooperative housing project, led by its future inhabitants with technical support from La Dinamo Fundació. It will feature 30 homes and 10 additional dwellings divided across two clusters, with communal spaces spread between the basement, ground floor and roof, and a publicly-owned commercial unit. The communal spaces are a key complement to the housing units, enriching community life, shared living and ties with the local area. Lacol is in charge of building design, construction management and site management to support and streamline the cooperative housing development process and achieve its objectives, carrying out tasks assigned by the developer and the building and financial management teams.

The building occupies the entire plot and is constructed vertically to achieve the maximum habitable space. Its design includes a markedly urban facade on Carrer d’Amadeu Oller, in harmony with the surrounding buildings, and an extensive portico at the front, where the commercial premises and some of the community spaces can also be found. Towards the industrial site, large terraces offer access to the housing units and shared spaces, while the basement features communal spaces with direct access to the Can Batlló park.

The ground floor and the roof connect the communal areas, providing for a range of differing community and private use. The ground floor is divided across two levels, with the inclusion of a basement connected by dual spaces which deepen the link between the different shared cooperative areas and give the building a semi-public character via a street-level connection with the lower part of the neighbouring park. From the ground floor, close to the main entrance, a staircase will connect with the other floors. On each floor, external walkways provide space for circulation and access to housing. These walkways are conceived of as “elevated streets”, with 10 homes per floor and a width of 2.5m, allowing space for passage and access to the roof terrace. The roof features an enclosed stairwell, a landscaped garden and a trellis fitted with solar panels to provide shade, as well as housing the building’s centralised utilities.

The 30 housing units are spread between the second, third and fourth floors. These relatively modest units are complemented by community spaces offering more than 500m2 for shared use. The housing units are structured in three parts: the entrance gives way to the most public space, with a dining room-kitchen; at the centre, a bathroom and a multipurpose storage space, and at the back (facing Carrer Amadeu Oller), the most private space, with the possibility of one, two or three bedrooms using a system of adjoining annexes that can be connected to either or both of the two adjacent units.

The first floor is entirely given over to “cluster” homes, an innovative model for housing design and distribution which is already in use in community projects in countries such as Switzerland, Germany and Austria. It is a housing model in which a set of small homes are grouped around shared use spaces (kitchens, living rooms and study/office spaces) to further enhance collective living in the everyday environment.

The project is focused on maximising energy efficiency by reducing the impact of both the construction and useful life of the building. In terms of construction time and costs, a commitment has been made to use a prefabricated concrete structure and dry construction, complemented by a metal casing for walkways and balconies. The design is shaped by inclusive architecture, with universal accessibility to all spaces within the building (with particular attention to the needs of children, the elderly and those with diverse mobility needs), and an awareness that housing cooperatives are spaces of intergenerational coexistence.

Through a consultation process, parallel to the rollout of the project, users can get involved in the decisions being made about the different community and private spaces, as well as the environmental, energy and constructive aspects of the project, taking into account their joint-status as both cooperative housing champions and residents.