Barcelona social housing by MIAS Architects is a "tribute to the cultural roots of its inhabitants"

Spanish studio MIAS Architects has renovated a historic housing block in the centre of Barcelona into a series of social housing apartments, defined by a bold palette of red render, patterned ceramic tiles and geometric metal grilles.

Called Lady Raval Social Housing, the block is located along the medieval Hospital Street in Barcelona’s Raval neighbourhood – one of its oldest and most densely populated urban districts.

Raval is defined by its diverse immigrant population, which MIAS Architects looked to celebrate through the incorporation of materials and decorative patterns, which it says are a “tribute to the memory and cultural roots of its inhabitants.”

“Diversity is one of the neighbourhood’s greatest strengths, though the area’s urban density and configuration have, at times, contributed to a sense of physical and social isolation from the rest of the city,” the studio told Dezeen.

“The driving idea behind the project was to give new life to a historic building while celebrating the diverse cultural backgrounds of its residents,” it added.

“Rather than imposing a new identity, the intervention sought to recover and elevate what was already there – both in architectural form and in community spirit.”

Central to the renovation was a reconfiguration of the building’s layout, which, due to piecemeal alterations over the years, had been left disconnected from the street and its internal courtyard.

MIAS Architects split the building into two volumes – a smaller front block facing the street and an L-shaped block at the rear, which has enabled each apartment to be oriented towards a shared, central courtyard.

“The central courtyard is the focal point of the intervention. It becomes the shared external space to which all apartments are oriented,” said the studio.

“Symbolically, it serves as the soul of the building, a collective space that represents the community within,” it added.

New openings were introduced to open up the block’s previously isolated stair areas, only covered with geometric metal grilles to allow in light and air. Lifts were also added to each block to improve accessibility.

Facing the courtyard, these new openings and the apartment windows have been surrounded by bespoke ceramic tiles by architect and ceramicist Carlos Jiménez Cenamor, finished in a marbled pattern of pinks and reds.

The external walls of the block have been finished in textured, deep red render, carried through to the communal areas where it is complemented by pale yellow painted brickwork and orange from doors.

In contrast, the apartments themselves have been given predominantly white finishes and wooden floors, with areas of the original wooden ceiling beams left exposed.

MIAS Architects, formerly known as MiAS Architects, was founded by Josep Miás in 2000.

Elsewhere in Barcelona, a social housing project in Cornellà by Peris + Toral Arquitectes was last year named the winner of the RIBA International Award.

Dutch studio Monadnock recently completed Volante, a social housing block in the Netherlands with colourful glazed brickwork and window frames.

The photography is courtesy of MIAS Architects.

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