Text description provided by the architects. DE PEUS A TERRA (i el cap pels núvols) is a building with 50 social housing units in the Bon Pastor neighborhood of Barcelona, where common sense and passion come together, unapologetically celebrating community while carefully tending to the domestic sphere. Our building is part of the transformation of “las casas baratas de Bon Pastor” (the cheap houses of Bon Pastor), a housing complex that was created to provide shelter for all those workers who came to Barcelona to work at the 1929 International Exposition. Since 2002, this complex of 784 single-story homes with interior courtyards has been replaced by high-rise multi-family buildings… including ours, with a ground floor and six stories!

Our initial concern was to restore the neighborhood’s sociability, which had previously developed at street level. The first hurdle to overcome was the impact on pedestrians of this new urban scale of the open block, for which we developed several strategies.

Stagger two floors towards the park that borders the south, providing a more pleasant view of the children’s playground. Taking advantage of the fact that the main façades (east and west) have very similar sun exposure, we made the layouts of the adjoining homes reversible, placing the living room on the east side and that of the neighbors on the west side. In this way, we reduced the number of stacked terraces… at first glance, the building appears shorter and more dynamic.

The massiveness and breadth of the brick ground floor contrasts with the slenderness and lightness of the building that rests on top of it, lightening the perception of the whole. The ground floor blends into its surroundings through ramps and stairs with the same finish as the urbanization, inviting people to sit down, walk around, and through open planters that seek to blend in with the magnificent vegetation of the surrounding neighborhood.

Next, we magnify the communal spaces by installing ramps and stairways everywhere to reach passageways that allow us to see from street to street, bringing light and security to the interior… and transparency to the exterior! Once inside, the passageways explode vertically with triple-height spaces that accompany residents to the landing of their homes. All of this is enhanced by vibrant colors to encourage dialogue and understanding… what else could the green ceilings and wooden benches on each floor be for!