Princesa49 is the first cooperative housing initiative in Barcelona! The project arose in 2014 when the opportunity to collaborate with the City Council was raised to carry out a pilot test in the city with a housing cooperative project in right of use. Four years later, in June 2018, we moved in after a participatory and collective decision-making process and a year of construction.
The Barcelona City Council ceded the use of the building to Sostre Cívic through a surface right to 75 years, in exchange for a comprehensive rehabilitation that would allow for better accessibility, energy savings and that would become a model both for the sector and for the people who would live there.
ARCHITECTURAL PROJECT
The building was built in the middle of the 5th century and its rehabilitation has made it possible to recover the original hydraulic pavements and the embigats, which were hidden; in addition to reusing the interior carpentry. The project has 45 homes of 2m65 and 2m3 and XNUMX spaces for community use spread over the different floors.
The original interior distributions were affected by the introduction of the new lift which has guaranteed accessibility to all the homes in the building. The new distribution proposed in the plants also allowed the integration of the modifications suggested by the neighbors of each of the homes.
In addition, they have been brought different actions to reduce and optimize consumption, such as the insulation of all the external walls with cork and mud, the improvement and recovery of the carpentry and the incorporation of radiant systems. In addition, all facilities have been centralized to share resources: pellet boiler, solar panels, rainwater tank and gray water recycling tank.
THOUGHT IN COMMON TO LIVE IN COMMON
The people we live in Princesa49 we have obtained the right of use of our homes through an initial contribution of 9.000€ (returnable in case of termination of the project) and a stable monthly fee of €450-600.
The project definition process required a intensive and long-term participatory work, during which we held a series of workshops that dealt with the different aspects of the project. We carried out initial work facilitated by Angel Martín, architect and partner of the entity, who helped us to reflect on the habitat and, based on the experience of living in different spaces, we defined what we like and how we want to live
You can see an example in the following video, which shows another session facilitated by Matriu where we agreed on the uses of the communal spaces and their finishes. It is usual that a Sostre Cívic we work with associations like Matriu, which accompany people and groups so that they become active agents in the construction of conscious and respectful relationships and forms of organization, to support the group process of the projects.
The whole process has been one comprehensive learning for us. On the one hand, we have acquired technical work, economic and resource management knowledge, and on the other hand we have learned to build the collective project by focusing on people, when, for example, we had to adapt the our personal expectations towards the consensus and interests of the group. Thanks to this work, the collective housing project becomes something more than just architecture, as it also places value on the care and emotions of the people who live there.
YOU WANT TO LIVE A PRINCESA49?
Princesa49 it is currently full and has no vacancies. If the project is canceled at any time, all members of the cooperative will be notified.
We remind you that the main criterion when transferring the right to assign the use of a home is theseniority order a Sostre Cívic, as contained in article 14 of our statutes. If you are not yet a member, you can do so fromthis page!
The building of Princesa49 it was ceded by Barcelona City Council in 2016 through a 75-year surface right.