Ideas, strategies and projects that give rise to pilot projects. They tackle the challenges raised by the stakeholders involved and which are found in particular places in Barcelona or Medellín.
The state of the built fabric of major cities, consisting of buildings that in many cases are over 50 years old, indicates there is a need for a specialist: a local architect who has first-hand knowledge of the edifice and its occupants, is able to analyse the building in its constructional, social and historical entirety, and thus suggest solutions to its problems, bearing in mind the priorities.
Collective action makes most sense in relation to the building, as conditions that affect homes and which can be improved may arise at this level. The building is the midway point between the individual home and the city and provides an opportunity to extend links towards the specific (the home) or the general (the city).
On this occasion, we want to introduce ourselves to the Raval neighbourhood as Local Architects, understood in the manner of local doctors. The overall objective is to offer residents the opportunity to work with (future) architects to envision, plan and study the viability of those changes to their homes and communities that will result in improvements to their lives and their relationships with each other.
The actions that may be taken, in a climate of collective activity, include improving communal spaces such as the entrance lobby, the staircase and the rooftop, thereby encouraging residents to use them; identifying architectural barriers and solutions to them; and meeting residents’ particular demands in relation to their homes. It will all depend on the agreement arrived at by the students and the people living in the Raval.
The intention is to establish friendly contact, reconnecting the craft and apprenticeship in architecture with citizens as the main beneficiaries. The initiative provides an opportunity to increase the value of co-operative models in which learning in the field of architecture has a direct impact on actions by and for citizens. A further aim is to forge closer ties between universities and society, which is essential to ensure a two-way transfer of values and knowledge.
The ETSAB (Barcelona School of Architecture) made its first foray into this project in the form of a two-week-long workshop organised as part of the third-year degree subject on Housing and the City in June 2013. The workshop was one of the events held during the OPEN ETSAB ETSAV (El Vallès School of Architecture) initiative, during which public schools of architecture opened to the city. The opportunity has now arisen to take this project still further as part of Piso Piloto.
