SHARING A HOME in Poblenou, Barcelona

Abstract

By designing our environment, we are not only creating new spaces to go through, pass by and be in, but we are also creating a surrounding that dictates how we live. Everything is designed for a certain user. The things designed for a broad variety of users are often designed for an imaginatory norm. In the case of housing this norm is to live either by yourself or with a core family. In Europe, the average houshold size is 3,1 people and many apartments are designed for this average. When looking for an apartment without fitting these norms, the options get sparse and inhabitants need to try to appropriate a space that is not made for them. While populations in cities are increasing, space per person is increasing and rents rising, many people decide to move in with other people outside of their core family. This means a new way of living together is calling for an adaptation of housing. The new user group that becomes more of a norm needs facilitation to do so. In this master thesis, I will experiment with shared housing. I want to discover the alternative ways of living in a community and how to open up new opportunities. Who is it good for? How is it used? What is it still missing? In this thesis, I present a cluster apartment design that works within the context of the neighborhood Poblenou in Barcelona. A city that as one of the highest densities in Europe and fastest rising rents in Spain. A city that is modern, open to change, but presents a sense of community and neighborhood that I so far haven‘t experienced in other cities.