Vallecas Social Housing

The coexistence of young and old people in a residential building located in a consolidated urban site in the process of renovation in the Vallecas district of Madrid offers an extraordinary opportunity to rethink ways of living and offer innovative alternatives. We propose a universal, adaptable and resilient system. A set of 'generic trays' as a neutral elevated public space that houses housing for the elderly and young people; and we propose a set of collective spaces, galleries, arcades, terraces, shaded areas and gardens, where the project makes total sense, finds its urbanity and where its inhabitants will celebrate life.

‍

‍

Two types of housing are built on these trays that cater specifically to the two types of inhabitants. The elderly have housing that is more protected from the outside environment and is accessed by a vertical core of stairs and lifts; and the young are housed in gallery housing that will produce more interaction between them, more varied and informal. The young and old will be able to share their interests in the large and diverse set of collective spaces, some of which are indoors - meeting rooms or a dining room - and others outdoors, such as a vegetable garden on the roof of one of the rooms, or the terraces and terraces that are arranged on the topography of the plot. These community spaces build a certain social cohesion and generational integration through contemporary urban socialisation practices that go beyond neighbourhood coexistence.

‍

‍