AVS. Arkitektúr verktækni skipulag - 01.06.2005, Blaðsíða 57

Working with well known archi-
tects under the direction of archi-
tect Josep Bohigas the Ministry
introduced a proposal for small,
30 square metre rental flats. These
were flats intended for young peo-
ple and those requireing temporary,
cheap housing for a year or two
while looking for something more
permanent. The general reaction
to this proposal has been critical,
the main criticism being that such
a small space did not constitute
“proper” housing. But María Antonia
Trujillo, the Minister of Housing
replied that the quality of housing
was not measured in square metres.
The architects’
proposals
ln April 2005, six proposals were
displayed at the building industry
exhibition Construmat in Barcelona.
The proposals were the work of
acknowledged architects such
as the French architectural prac-
tice of Anne Lacaton and Jean
Philippe Vassal, the architectural
practice of Inaki Ábalos and Juan
Herreros in Madrid, and also
younger architects like Santiago
Cirugeda and Gustavo Gili Galfetti.
A group of students; Jorge
Cortés, Sergio García and
Borja García on one hand, and
Miquel Suau Martorell on the
other, were invited to present
proposals as they were the win-
ners of the 17. Habitácola stu-
dent-competition, planned by
ARQ-INFAD in Barcelona.
Generally speaking the propos-
als were well designed although it
could be questioned whether they
truly met the goals of the competi-
tion. This applied to the proposal
by architects Lacaton & Vassal as
the flat was neither small nor did
it utilise low-cost materials. They
decided to follow their traditional
policy of trying to create as much
space and square metres as possi-
ble wíthin certain financial restraints.
This was the primary concern
before any emphasis was put on
creating the “smallest” flat. They
met competition requirements for
the smallest space by basing their
proposal on one idea: Multiplying
the usable space. Thier flat meas-
ured 36 x 36 square metres with
double the usual floor-to-ceiling
height, dubbed Double house.
Architects Ábalos & Herreros
approached the competition in a
similar vein. They based their pro-
posal for the flat on a unit with high-
er than usual floor-to-ceiling height.
This unit had one technical wall
containing all the plumbing and utili-
ties, in addition to storage space. In
order to make still better use of the
space the flat was entered through
the bathroom. This resulted in an
flexíble and pragmatic open living
room. In addition to this the archi-
tects proposed another outdoor
“room”, a kind of vegetable garden/
balcony, or “hortus conclusus” typi-
cal of much Medeterrainian housing.
Santiago Cirugeda is an architect
who has put his ideas about 30
square metre flats into practice. At
the exhibition he clearly stated that
these flats were intended for those
with relatively low incomes, and
proposed using re-usable materi-
als that could simplify construc-
tíon, so that even the prospective
inhabitants could take part in the
construction of thier micro-flats. This
would reduce costs and make them
both more personal and “proper”.
Reserve-housing
Feasability
The Ministry of Housing succeeded
sparking debate about the hous-
ing shortage. Their research was
directed towards seeking solu-
tions for a temporary condition.
However, the existing regulations
do not permit these “micro-flats”
because they do not provide the
minimum square area currently
required by Spanish housing codes.
The Ministry is therefore contem-
plating altering the law and mak-
ing the regulations more flexible.
This is, however, not a simple
issue. The basic requirements for
every flat are the same, so apart
from size and it stands to reason
that small flats could be propor-
tionally more expensive than large
flats if built to the same standard. If
the price of building sites does not
fall this situation will not improve.
There is also the possibility that the
price of these small flats will start
to increase as soon as they come
to market. Middle men and other
interested bodies in the building
industry are so numerous that the
Ministry alone cannot shoulder the
responsibility. This situation can
not be changed by will alone. ■