Illa Glòries

Marta Vidal

• Architects

Cierto Estudio announces the completion of the Illa Glòries housing development, a transformative project redefining the principles of collective housing and urban integration in Barcelona. This project, born from an international competition, exemplifies a forwardthinking approach to urban living, prioritizing community, sustainability, and adaptability.

The Illa Glòries project strengthens community bonds through shared spaces, fostering interaction and enhancing collective living, particularly from a gender perspective.

The apartments are designed with flexibility in mind, featuring interconnected rooms and adaptable spaces that can easily evolve to accommodate changing lifestyles and family structures.

The development incorporates a range of sustainable features, including energy-efficient systems, the use of renewable materials like wood, and a significant green area to mitigate the urban heat island effect.

Barcelona is facing a severe housing crisis, marked by rising costs and limited availability. Current urban development mechanisms are often inflexible and slow to respond to the city’s urgent needs. In this context, Illa Glòries — part of a larger redevelopment plan aimed at transforming and enhancing a wide district of Barcelona — stands as a beacon of progress, demonstrating the potential public institutions can have in delivering high-quality, accessible housing solutions.

Within this framework, Cierto Estudio — known for its success in designing innovative and sustainable housing models that foster social cohesion and individual well-being, while transcending traditional domestic stereotypes and hierarchies — has made its contribution.

A Vision for Inclusive and Flexible Living

Winning the 2017 international competition organized by the Institut Municipal de l’Habitatge i Rehabilitació de Barcelona (IMHAB), Cierto Estudio proposed a groundbreaking design for the Illa Glòries block, situated at the nexus of Barcelona’s 22@ technological district and the historic Eixample neighborhood.

This ambitious project involves the construction of 238 apartments. Building A2, designed by Cierto Estudio, includes 51 dwellings and reflects a holistic approach to urban living. The design integrates gender perspective strategies, ensuring inclusivity and adapting to diverse family structures. Designed with a gender perspective, the project promotes equity, safety, and shared responsibility in domestic and caregiving tasks. By incorporating spatial strategies that encourage interaction, mutual support, and visibility of caregiving activities, the design fosters an inclusive environment that adapts to diverse family structures.

Designing for Community and Sustainability

Illa Glòries introduces a new paradigm for urban housing, balancing density with permeability to the surrounding cityscape. Key features include:

- Extensive Communal Spaces Two large courtyards and continuous communal balconies encourage interaction among neighbors while providing secure and vibrant environments for socializing and relaxation. The arrangement of homes around these shared spaces follows a “corrala” layout, a strategy that cultivates a network of mutual vigilance and enhances collective security — particularly relevant from a gender perspective, as it helps reduce risks associated with gender-based violence. The spatial configuration ensures crossed sightlines, reinforcing a naturally protected environment. The courtyards are shielded from public activity yet visually connected to the street, blending privacy with openness. The balconies act as outdoor meeting points, linking residences to shared spaces like patios and rooftops, thus transforming them into integral parts of everyday life.

-Dynamic Living Spaces Flexible apartment layouts prioritize adaptability, ensuring that homes can evolve with the changing needs of their occupants. Each residence is designed to de-hierarchize living spaces, eliminating a main central area or a predefined space for a dominant figure. Instead, rooms of similar size and character allow residents to distribute space freely according to their needs, promoting equity in everyday life. The design also integrates a thoughtfully positioned kitchen that enhances connectivity within the home and fosters an inclusive environment. Additionally, hinged spaces and centrally located rooms create opportunities for both physical and visual connections, promoting individual autonomy as well as communal living.

-Environmental Responsibility The project adheres to NZEB (Nearly Zero Energy Building) standards, employing cross-laminated timber (CLT) for its structure, maximizing thermal insulation, and integrating passive design strategies such as cross-ventilation, solar protection, and green roofs. Over 60% of the site is dedicated to green spaces, mitigating the urban heat island effect.

A Collaborative Urban Approach

The urban strategy for Illa Glòries reflects a meticulous approach to blending public and private realms. A pedestrian passageway connects Diagonal Avenue to Mercat dels Encants, ensuring urban permeability. The courtyards, visible from the street, blur the boundaries between public and communal areas, fostering inclusivity while preserving privacy. Additionally, the integration of commercial spaces at ground level enriches the neighborhood’s vibrancy. Furthermore, the collaboration between architectural teams ensures a cohesive and harmonious aesthetic across the entire block. This thoughtful design promotes urban vibrancy while offering tranquil areas for residents to retreat.

From Collective Space to Domestic Space

Cierto Estudio has designed an innovative access system that seamlessly bridges public and private realms, cultivating community while preserving the intimacy of home. Approaching from the street, residents enter a spacious green courtyard — a climate refuge where neighbors share leisure and care. In alignment with the project’s gender perspective, the design acknowledges the importance of caregiving responsibilities by incorporating dedicated communal spaces for the care of children and the elderly. These shared areas support caregiving dynamics, encouraging collective responsibility and cultivating a community where care work is recognized and valued. This sense of community is further strengthened by broad, south-facing walkways that connect homes to a communal rooftop, a verdant oasis that helps counteract excessive urban heat. Functioning as collective balconies, these walkways not only serve as shared spaces but also safeguard privacy through setbacks in the inner façade. Expanding at the entrances to the homes, the pathways underscore the central role of the kitchen and domestic life, reinforcing the visibility of domestic tasks. By integrating the kitchen, bathroom, and laundry area into the social fabric of both the home and the community, the design challenges traditional gender roles and encourages shared participation in household responsibilities.

A Non-Hierarchical Home

The project challenges traditional housing hierarchies and responds to the evolving needs of contemporary urban living. As society moves away from the monopoly of the traditional nuclear family, Cierto Estudio proposes a neutral layout in which multiple configurations are possible, eliminating stereotypes and hierarchies while offering a versatile home that adapts flexibly and reversibly to its occupants’ needs. The ambiguity and equivalence of the rooms allow different functions to unfold within the same space. At the typological core, a square divided into four equal parts is centered around a joint rotated 45 degrees, while the south façade reveals the access and kitchen areas. More than just an extension of the living room, the kitchen is conceived as a distinct space that actively participates in home life and offers a long sightline across the dwelling. Additionally, the strategic placement of joints at the intersections multiplies connections and generates diagonal views, and an entrance joint gives rise to an independent room that further enhances the home’s flexibility.

Environmental Strategy

The building employs a comprehensive environmental strategy that encompasses energy efficiency, water cycle management, material life cycles, and overall building health. Each unit is designed to maximize sunlight in winter and ensure effective cross-ventilation in summer. Moreover, the CLT wooden structure — designed in tandem with the apartment layout for efficiency and cohesion — minimizes the building’s ecological footprint by reducing weight, foundation size, construction waste, and water consumption.