Building Communities
Studio Eva Prats

Photo: Adrià Goula

Manifesto

In a situation of global crisis, collective housing can help to give stability and to restore the confidence that seems to have been lost in many layers of current society. Trust in neighbors, in counting on them, generating a community in which one can feel accompanied and can be supported at any time; it is a necessity that architecture can collaborate to solve decisively. Collaborate in reversing isolation and individuality tendencies, promoting communication, to meet and interact, the physical contact and communication between neighbors.

We care about the inclusive character of social housing, with its ability to incorporate sectors of the society at risk of exclusion, not only on an economic level but also on a cultural one. Collective housing can function as a first social circle within the larger structure of society and the city. That is why the multidisciplinary formation of the architect is essential to understand the social impact implicit in the housing design.

We believe that research and innovation about new ways of living have to be produced in social housing field. The housing promoted and subsidized by public entities is, by definition, the place where society has to see not only typological proposals but also about groups and social organizations. It is here where the investigation has to take place and where to work on how to incorporate new ways of living that are already present in the society, but which are not present in the University programs. The studio proposes to connect the research capacity of the University with the latent realities of living in the society, from a specific line of work in this field.

Observational Cartography, FS20