La Morada

La Morada is a housing cooperative under a use-rights model located in the Roquetes neighborhood of Barcelona. It was initiated by a group of lesbians, trans people, and women from diverse feminist activist backgrounds who aim to create a sustainable, communal, and solidarity-based way of life. The project is developed on a private plot owned by La Dinamo Fundació, which was awarded to the La Morada group in 2018 through an open call, with the goal of building 12 units of affordable housing.

At Lacol, we supported the group through both the architectural design and site supervision, while also taking on the role of Construction Management, to make the construction process more efficient, collaborative, and sustainable—optimizing budgets and carrying out delegated tasks from the developer, among other responsibilities. La Dinamo managed the overall development of the project.

The design process was carried out in parallel with a participatory process involving the future residents, through which a shared vision of community life was developed, shaping both the collective spaces and the individual homes. On the ground floor, facing the public square, there is a communal kitchen that can be fully opened to engage with the life of the neighborhood. The entrance porch serves as a welcoming space and a cool resting spot, benefiting from cross-ventilation created by its connection to the inner courtyard. Above the kitchen, a mezzanine hosts guest rooms and a co-working space. On the rooftop (fully accessible by elevator), there is a large terrace with a green roof, a photovoltaic pergola, and a shared laundry. The 290 m² of communal spaces offer generous shared use, complementing the private living areas.

The project seeks to maximize openness and natural light, prioritizing a larger inner courtyard over built volume. Access to the homes is provided via generous walkways that also serve as places to sit and interact. Kitchens are positioned at the entrance of the homes, acting as a transition to the private spaces and allowing for interaction with the walkways. Kitchens and bathrooms occupy the inner bay, while bedrooms and living rooms face the outer façade, allowing more flexibility for future modifications. All homes have private outdoor terraces overlooking the square.

To meet budget constraints, a very simple structure was designed, optimizing the use of concrete with exposed concrete columns and beams, and unidirectional slabs made of concrete joists and ceramic blocks. The structural rhythm sets a framework that organizes the dwellings and allows for subtle variations across floors.

The building envelope includes 10 cm of external insulation and high-performance wooden window frames. Combined with photovoltaic panels and an aerothermal system with radiant floor heating, the project achieves an A energy rating with zero CO₂ emissions.