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.
Design of a pilot apartment, ceded by Barcelona City Council in the Raval neighbourhood, to offer homeless people a roof to spend the night under. Zero Apartment was given this name for the concept of being the first step, for homeless people, on the staircase of their lives, in a process of getting back on their feet. This theme is picked up inside the apartment: the idea is based on tiers situated at different levels that free up the space, as the tiers at once provide cot, table and chair. The apartment is designed to be used by a minimum of four people and two volunteers.
The people who decide to spend the night at the Zero Apartment will be accompanied by volunteers of Fundació Arrels. As well as ensuring the smooth functioning of the apartment, they will spend the night with the people who go there to sleep. It is a unique opportunity to reforge ties, thereby promoting the self-esteem and confidence needed by people who are excluded. This is why the first space in the apartment is the Agora. It is devised to encourage the necessary bonds between volunteers and users of the apartment. It is a place where people can sit down on a bench at a table, but can also be turned into a place to sleep. The topography of tiers extends towards the bedroom space and reaches the terrace, creating a versatile range of spots to sleep. Mattresses are stored away so that when the inhabitants of Zero Apartment arrive they can choose their place and make themselves at home. At the other end of the apartment, nearest to the balcony, is the kitchenette, where they can heat up soup or make coffee, and the bedroom for the volunteers. The apartment also has a disabled access bathroom.
Zero Apartment will be open to inhabitants from 8 p.m. to 10 a.m. The project makes the most of the daytime hours when the apartment is unoccupied to provide Fundació Arrels with a space for training, incorporating a second use as a classroom. The space is used to train people volunteering with Arrels, and to attend anyone who is interested in finding out more about the Foundation’s project.
