Barcelona social housing by Cierto Estudio "challenges traditional gender roles"
Apartments with deliberately non-defined rooms fill this social housing block in Barcelona, which local practice Cierto Estudio has finished with a palette of bold red and pastel green.
Named La Comunidad Habitacional, or The Room Community, the block of 51 units is part of the wider Illa Glòries housing development in 22@ – an area of urban renewal in Barcelona that was completed in 2024.
The project is longlisted in the housing category of the Dezeen Awards 2025.
The 8,700-square-metre, U-shaped building has a concrete-framed ground floor infilled with brickwork, which contains commercial spaces and shared areas for children and the elderly.
Above are La Comunidad Habitacional's apartments, designed by Cierto Estudio with square, "non-hierarchical" floor plans that are divided into four equal rooms and used as residents see fit.
Along the southern edge, one of the quadrants extends into an entrance area lined with kitchen units that overlook communal access decks outside.
According to the studio, this creation of neutral spaces rather than defined rooms aims to "promote equity" by eliminating the idea of a main or dominant space in the home.
"The ambiguity and equivalence of the rooms allow different functions to unfold within the same space," said Cierto Estudio.
"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," it continued.
A square bathroom space sits at the centre of these square floor plans, rotated 45 degrees so that each of its corners forms a dividing wall.
Meanwhile, to the north of each apartment, small terraces project at an angle of 45 degrees to animate the facades of the block.
Alongside these balconies, apartments also link to large access decks and balconies, enlivened by red awnings, window frames and doors that contrast the block's pale green finish.
These are designed by Cierto Estudio to foster "a sense of community" by overlooking the large semi-public courtyard around which the housing is arranged. This courtyard is one of two at the southwestern end of the Illa Glòries development.
"Approaching from the street, residents enter a spacious green courtyard – a climate refuge where neighbours share leisure and care," said Cierto Estudio.
"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," it added.
"Functioning as collective balconies, these walkways not only serve as shared spaces but also safeguard privacy through setbacks in the inner facade."
The pale green render of the block's exterior is carried through to the communal spaces, where it is accompanied by green and terracotta tiles.
For the apartment interiors, a predominantly white palette emphasises the angled walls and division of space, accompanied by pale wood and tiled floors.
Other social housing projects recently completed in Barcelona include a bold, red-coloured development by MIAS and Coll-Leclerc Architects and a building by DataAE and Xavier Vendrell that balances on a steep site overlooking the Mediterranean Sea.
The photography is by Jose Hevia unless stated otherwise.
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