DES-BLOQUE-O (UN-BLOCK-ED)

An inclusive proposal for a 1960's housing state transformation, DES-BLOQUE-O aims to transform Ciudad Meridiana to enable the emergence of new enterprises and multiply public spaces, stretching the current activity of the neighbourhood and generating new economies that empower local stakeholders.

Conditioning factors at the site revealed synergies in a cooperative effort between students, city council institutions and local stakeholders. The overarching strategy focuses on the generation of a link between two key axes of the district: interventions by students are devised as micro-nodes that create new links in and around these axes. Interconnectivity between the different proposed projects is also sought by enhancing the interstitial spaces and leftover spaces. In particular, the individual proposal has focused on five strategies in response to the brief: 1. The activation of the two axes with the potential of improving the inner and outer accessibilities of the district. 2.The potential re-structuring of the block system to coordinate a new urban system. 3.The multiplication of public spaces through a complex section that makes use of the topography and existing incipient in-between spaces. 4.The implementation of new economies through public-private initiatives to enhance new activities via open urban systems. 5.The improvement of current housing conditions. To connect the urban mass with this new structure, we propose a terraced building on a site capable of connecting the two axes. To do that, we generate public spaces coupled with activities that accompany them rising along the slope. Subsequently, a new economy will be implemented on these spaces, via an inclusive business incubator which will take advantage of the proximity to the Collserola natural park and the powerful associative fabric of Ciudad Meridiana. Furthermore, the rehabilitation of the adjacent housing blocks is considered as part of the proposal, so as to make blocks and incubator work as a whole, as a single holistic endeavour to transform Ciudad Meridiana.