La Balma is a transfer-of-use housing cooperative managed by Sostre Cívic, a Catalonian non-profit cooperative organisation. Located on a plot in Barcelona’s Poblenou neighbourhood, it was designed and developed by Lacol together with Laboqueria Taller d’Arquitectura.
The project was awarded through a municipal tender for cooperative housing and contributes to the expansion of non-speculative, affordable housing in the city. It aims to minimise environmental impact while avoiding energy poverty. The building is conceived as a facility that supports residents across three social environments: the neighbourhood, the residential community, and the domestic sphere.
Project background and participatory process
During the competition phase, a socio-economic diagnosis of the future residents was undertaken, followed by a participatory process to develop a consensus proposal. The building is conceived as an infrastructure that accompanies users and allows them to evolve freely across the three identified social spheres.
Relationship with the neighbourhood
La Balma is located at the corner of Espronceda and Camí Antic de València Streets, the latter forming a green corridor lined with neighbourhood amenities. The cooperative aims to act as an additional amenity within this corridor, sharing communal spaces and projecting the richness of community life outwards. For this reason, the main entrance, communal spaces, and vertical circulation are positioned on the north facade, facing the public space of Camí Antic de València. A commercial space on Espronceda Street is currently used by an NGO, helping to activate the ground floor.
Spaces for communal living
A programme of community spaces was defined during the initial participatory process and is distributed vertically across the building. These spaces take on different characteristics depending on their use, with the intention that community and transitional areas enhance human relationships, support spontaneous communication, and encourage cooperative activity as part of the “big house” concept.
On the ground floor, there is a communal kitchen-dining area, bicycle storage, a neighbourhood-facing workshop, a lobby, and two commercial premises opening onto Carrer Espronceda. On the upper floors, in addition to the housing units, there are small-format community spaces including a multipurpose room, reading space, guest rooms, a care space, and a laundry. The fully accessible rooftop includes a spacious terrace of more than 300 square metres that residents can equip with allotments, solar panels, and shared recreation areas.
Transitional spaces accompany the community spaces on all floors. Typically minimised or reduced to single-purpose corridors, here they function as open, ventilated, and sunny areas intended for quality and comprehensive use.
Housing typologies and spatial flexibility
The project comprises 20 housing units, designed according to a grid of flexible 15-square-metre spaces that allow a wide range of separations and layouts, enabling residents to shape their interiors. Each unit includes a basic, fully equipped 50-square-metre module defined as small (S). This module can be expanded by one or two additional spaces to form medium (M) or large (L) units. These added spaces remain private in use but are managed collectively by the cooperative, supporting organisational flexibility over time. One unit is designated as a bridge unit for families undergoing social reintegration.
Structural strategy and material approach
To reduce environmental impact during the construction phase, the building employs a dual structural system designed to optimise material performance, cost, construction speed, and environmental impact. The foundation and ground floor are built with a reinforced concrete structure using the minimum quantity of mineral material. The upper floors, which contain the housing units and community spaces, use a cross-laminated timber (CLT) structure, creating comfortable and healthy internal environments and improving the overall environmental impact. The resulting lightweight construction minimises groundwork and prioritises reusable and removable materials.
Environmental approach
La Balma combines a low-carbon timber structure, a passive-first environmental strategy, and a flexible spatial framework to reduce both embodied and operational energy demand. Built without a parking garage — following a regulatory change achieved during its development — the project uses CLT for the upper floors and dry construction to minimise concrete and site waste. Its geothermal system, radiant clay panels, and calibrated solar control ensure low-cost thermal comfort, with the clay layer providing essential thermal inertia in the Mediterranean climate. Performance is supported by resident training and long-term monitoring.
Designed for adaptability, the structure and management model allow homes to expand, contract, or change configuration; moreover, the building includes infrastructure for future systems such as photovoltaics and grey water recovery. Together, these measures establish a housing cooperative with a reduced environmental footprint and long-term resilience.
