- Social Housing 2104: transforming demolition debris into Mallorca housing
- Designed by the Barcelona-based firm H ARQUITECTES, the project exemplifies innovative and thoughtful repurposing in architecture.
- Project: Social Housing 2104
- Location:
- Spain
- Architects:
- H ARQUITECTES
- Typology:
- Social Housing and Co-Living
- Area: 1600m²
- Images credit: H ARQUITECTES
Social Housing 2104 is a project that highlights the various ways in which materials that otherwise may be considered debris can be repurposed in meaningful ways in new construction.
After the demolition, almost all the rubble from the preexisting building would be used, depending on the type of material. The pieces of ceramic and concrete elements (140 m³) will be poured into the foundation pits and all the sandstone (160 m³) will be used to build large blocks (1,700 units) of cyclopean lime concrete mixed with recycled sandstone (40% of the volume of the blocks), composed of large boulders up to 30 cm in diameter, and sandstone gravel. These blocks, approximately 135 cm long, 42 cm high and with variable widths for each floor (64, 54, 44 and 34 cm), will be prefabricated once the demolition is complete, before starting the construction of the new building and will allow the duration of the works to be considerably reduced.
The building’s spatial and programmatic layout is directly influenced by its structural system. The floor plan features a staircase core positioned in the corner, which provides access to a walkway within the interior garden. This walkway leads to each apartment, except those on the semi-basement and attic floors. The semi-basement and attic units are half as deep as the standard floors and utilize two structural bays per apartment. The façade prominently displays the structural system: the end walls—composed of prefabricated block walls—decrease in height on each floor and support the wooden ceilings.
Each apartment’s façade includes wooden balconies that extend from floor to ceiling, equipped with opaque side strips and Alicante blinds to shield against the eastern and western sun.
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