Architects:
Gabriel Verd + Buró4 + BM2
Year:
2019 accésit
Customer:
EMVISESA, SEVILLE TOWN HALL
Built area:
5.547,42 m2
The concept of this project is based on the idea of intergenerational relationships. We aim for this proposal to serve as a setting where various forms of communal living can coexist, founded on collaboration, solidarity, self-management, and always within close proximity to the Valdezorras neighborhood.
We aim to create a microcosm that reflects the neighborhood itself, ensuring a continuous bond between ALBORADA’s residents and the neighborhood, thereby giving full meaning to the concept of community. Living, collaborating, caring for one another, and maintaining lifestyle, hobbies, and personal autonomy is the leitmotif that has guided the design of ALBORADA.
The concept of cohousing is already working successfully in other countries, and in Spain, it is spreading steadily. The social approach of ALBORADA is what sets this development apart from others. Since these are supervised dwellings open to all ages, each unit has been designed to evolve alongside its residents, adapting to their physical and social development. This enables maximum long-term residency, thereby improving the quality of life in the process.
The idea stems from an urban concept that encourages porosity and interaction with the immediate surroundings. The sheltered entrance to the complex offers a glimpse of ALBORADA’s central courtyard—a neighborhood plaza equipped to foster interaction among neighbors (a place where one can play, read, engage in conversation, or simply enjoy the shade of the trees and landscaped gardens). From this plaza, there is a direct view of the urban gardens we propose, serving as a practical and regenerative continuation of the environment—a pleasant outlook towards the Miraflores stream and a prelude to the farmland beyond, in an effort to interact with natural cycles in contrast to the detachment of speculative urban growth models.
The gallery-style layout also encourages interaction between residents, reminiscent of the traditional “corrales de vecinos” (shared courtyard housing) that were once common in our city. These balcony-like corridors allow comfortable access to each unit (including direct lift access for bicycles) while offering broad views of the surroundings.
The large green ramp that forms the roof offers a unique opportunity to enjoy the building’s location right at the edge of the city of Seville—a vast, sloping garden from which to contemplate the nearby farmland and the almost rural character of this distinctive neighborhood.
TYPICAL UNIT AND VERSATILITY
Starting from a 10×10 square meter, the basic housing unit is conceived as a succession of versatile, non-hierarchical rooms of equal size (3.3×3.3 meters) arranged around a fixed central “wet” core, composed of two bathrooms and two kitchen walls, which also houses all of the building’s vertical installations. Rotating around this core, the rooms are arranged in such a way that circulation space is minimized to the extreme, making this an optimal proposal in terms of functionality.
Furthermore, with minimal and almost imperceptible adjustments, the basic housing unit can adapt to the full range of scenarios presented by the diversity of potential residents. It is therefore also optimal in terms of versatility, which, together with the described functionality, ensures adaptability over time and across different user profiles.
This spiral arrangement—so characteristic of the project—of the two sub-units derived from the base unit enhances versatility and optimization to the point where each dwelling could be designed by assembling pieces (like a puzzle) around that central fixed core.
