‘Terraces for Life’ was the scheme that won the bid for 40 social housing units promoted by the Institut Municipal de l’Habitatge of Barcelona (IMHAB) at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic For this project in the Sant Martí district the competition jury gave special importance to quick execution and ecological solutions as a response to the current housing and climate crises The eight-floor building presents an industrialized structure of cross-laminated timber (CLT) on a concrete base It is organized around a central community patio ensuring natural light and cross ventilation All the homes have a piece of the outer facade and the benefit of cantilevered terraces the generous dimensions of which vary strategicaly to make the facade dynamic all ceilings and indoor walls are clad in plasterboard A greenhouse on the roof makes it possible to produce food and energy within the confines of the building This space is equipped with a system for planting in trays up to 6 meters tall is built with wood and features a semi-transparent photovoltaic surface This generates the energy necessary for the building’s communal areas as well as for the greenhouse’s lighting system there arent any match using your search terms The homes will have between 56 and 64 square metres of floor space plus an outside terrace The new tenants will pay between 564 and 642 euros a month depending on the floor space of their flat without the rent exceeding 40% of the overall family income Boost for industrialised housing: more sustainable and quicker to build The construction methods and materials for industrialised homes offer quick and efficient solutions in shorter time frames than conventional building Traditional construction methods can take more than two years for a project of this type while an industrialised block cuts that time frame to a little over a year It also means a 30% reduction in CO2  emissions compared to a conventional construction A further two industrialised housing blocks are currently being built in the former Casernes de Sant Andreu offering 69 flats with social rents and 56 with rents for young people Urban Planning and Mobility Area is responsible for providing municipal services linked to the public areas and city services which make life easier for people who live and work in the city.  The City Council seeks to ensure a quality public space a green and biodiverse city that is productive and resilient a city committed to active and sustainable mobility with public involvement and commitment Urban Planning and Mobility Area has different instruments as well as advisory and participatory bodies for effective involvement and collaboration in municipal projects with the general public The Council sees to the smooth running of the city services to ensure the daily wellbeing of the public and contribute towards the city's development Work has now been completed on four new public housing blocks in Sant Martí constructed using industrialised techniques in a faster and more sustainable process Between them the blocks offer 151 flats with official protection The keys are expected to be handed over to tenants this year The blocks started being built at the end of 2022 and early in 2023 Recent months have seen the administrative steps completed for the definitive classification of the homes and the activation of services and utilities Two of the blocks are located in the neighbourhood of La Verneda i la Pau while the other two are in the neighbourhood of El Besòs i el Maresme: The construction methods and materials used in industrial housing offer fast and efficient solutions in shorter time frames than for conventional building methods Traditional time frames for projects of this type can take at least two years while industrialised methods cut that to just over a year They also enable CO2 emissions to be reduced by 30% compared to conventional construction Lola Iturbe and Pallars have been built with prefabricated panels made with wood from sustainable forests attained in the most efficient way and reducing emissions The four blocks bring the number of industrially built housing blocks in the city to nine These include the APROP temporary housing blocks in the Gòtic neighbourhood and in Glòries The Municipal Institute of Housing also has two further blocks in progress in the area of the old barrack blocks in Sant Andreu and another ready to be started in C/ Víctor Colomer another block at the Illa Glòries is currently nearing completion with Block A there also built with a wooden structure and industrialised methods The building in C/ Lola Iturbe Arizcuren will have eight floors This was a winning project in a public competition put forward by the architects Vicente Guallart Furió and Daniel Ibáñez Moreno along with the construction company ACSA Obras e Infraestructuras The main façade will face C/ José Garrido Gámez with the main entrance in C/ Lola Iturbe Arizcuren A solar greenhouse will be installed on the rooftop to cultivate food with 45 solar panels and aerothermal systems for the homes The new building is one of the six industrialised construction projects resulting from public competitions designed with the goal of reducing the environmental impact and shortening building times the Lola Iturbe project will have a structure made with cross-laminated timber (CLT) and a vertical structure with load-bearing walls also made with CLT This new public housing block, developed with industrialised constructions methods, follows in the footsteps of other innovative projects in Barcelona, such as the APROP temporary local housing blocks two of which have now been completed and provide more than sixty flats in the city Building work gets under way on a public housing development with affordable rents in C/ Lola Iturbe Arizcuren in the neighbourhood of La Verneda i la Pau has a budget of 4.99 million euros and is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2024 Area of Social Rights, Education and Life Cycles The project responds to a long-standing demand from local residents who took a citizen initiative before the Full Council two years ago to call for the bridge to be revamped The renovation of the bridge in Carrer de Santander will help reconnect the neighbourhoods of La Verneda i la Pau and Bon Pastor with a new accessible and inclusive infrastructure to make it easier to get about on foot or by bike Work gets under way in September and will take 17 months Green light for the eagerly awaited renovation of the Pont de Santander which connects the districts of Sant Martí and Sant Andreu The project corresponds to a long-standing debt which the city has with local people in this area The bridge is currently for vehicles only and the adjacent walkway is not accessible for people with reduced mobility The work will mean that what has so far been a barrier between the two districts will now become a new accessible bridge The new infrastructure will have wider pavements of between 3.3 and 4.5 metres a new pedestrian crossing and one traffic lane in each direction walkways will be built adjacent to the current bridge The current slope in the street will be slightly reduced too making it more accessible and meaning a gradient no greater than 6% Fifty new trees and new parterres will also be added to the area with new street lighting and traffic lights a renewed watering system and new Wi-Fi points Initially approved by the Government Commission the project has a budget of 9.92 million euros Work should start in September and be completed in 17 months A citizen initiative which reached the Full Council The Full Council unanimously approved a citizen initiative in December 2019 whereby the municipal government would start the process for the building project for the bridge The initiative was able to be presented thanks to the 4,458 valid signatures collected to demand the renovation of the bridge allowed for under the regulation on citizen participation The initiative was backed by the promoting commission made up of the following local residents’ associations: Associació de Veïns i Veïnes Sant Martí de Provençals Two of those promoting the project defended it before the city’s councillors The renovation of the bridge forms part of the city model being developed through the Barcelona Superblock plan which includes measures to reconnect neighbourhoods which have historically been separated by urban barriers and scars The project will help add vitality to the area of local industrial estates here and open up the city to the Besòs another firm commitment and goal for the municipal government El edificio de la promoción de Lola Iturbe Arizcuren constará de ocho plantas y corresponde a la propuesta ganadora de los arquitectos Vicente Guallart Furió y Daniel Ibáñez Moreno junto con la constructora ACSA Obras e Infraestructuras La fachada principal tendrá orientación a la calle de José Garrido Gámez y el acceso principal será por la calle de Lola Iturbe Arizcuren En la cubierta se instalará un invernadero solar de autoproducción alimentaria con 45 paneles fotovoltaicos y los equipos de aerotermia de las viviendas además de macetas para plantar árboles pequeños La nueva promoción es uno de los seis edificios industrializados que se han resuelto en dos concursos públicos y que están diseñados con el objetivo de reducir el impacto ambiental y acortar los plazos de construcción Gracias a métodos constructivos innovadores la promoción de Lola Iturbe constará de una estructura de madera en forma de forjados de CLT (siglas de cross laminated timber una tecnología que utiliza paneles de madera contralaminada) y una estructura vertical con paredes de carga que ya suman dos edificios con más de sesenta pisos en la ciudad Contracts have been awarded for four social-housing promotion projects in Sant Martí dwellings that will be built in an industrialised way using a faster and more sustainable method The goal of the tendering is to reduce the environmental impact associated with the manufacture of the materials and implementation periods of the work to speed up the expansion of the city’s public housing stock The Municipal Institute of Housing and Renovation (IMHAB) has awarded the contract for the project and work for building four public affordable rental housing promotions in the El Besòs i el Maresme and the Verneda i la Pau neighbourhoods which will provide new homes for more than 350 people The promotions will be located in the following plots of land: the four tenders have in common the reduced environmental impact associated with the construction of buildings with the efficient management of the materials used through recycled and recyclable elements and with workshop productions of the structural elements The municipal investment provided for is eleven million euros Revista Barcelona Sociedad Vivienda Labora Radars Plano de Barcelona ACBI Buenas Prácticas Sociales Observatorio Social Barcelona