03. Housing for the Workers’ Cooperative La Maquinista (Los Pescadores). 1951-1953
Architects: José Antonio Coderch de Sentmenat and Manuel Valls
Location: Plaça del Llagut, 1-11
The building is a social housing complex for fishermen, located in the Barceloneta neighbourhood on the site of the former San Fernando Barracks. The complex is generated by the aggregation of a T-shaped module that includes three units. This aggregation results in a large block with a ground floor and five stories above it – with an area equivalent to four traditional neighbourhood blocks – open to the south, which generates a public green space inside. Because this aggregation module orients the unit perpendicular to the interior of the square, it is subdivided into eight other sub-spaces where we find the accesses to 10 of the 11 stairwells.
The T-shaped module is comprised of two symmetrical houses and one perpendicular toward the square. The floor plan is based on a geometric system formed by walls rotated at 45º which respond to structural, constructive and distributive needs. The units are designed following a rigid distribution framework, divided into a day area and a night area, while ensuring independence among the units and privacy. In the case of the bedrooms that look out directly onto the public spaces, a series of screen-elements are designed to orient the openings of these rooms at an angle with respect to the street, avoiding direct visual contact with the buildings opposite them. These elements, finished in white stucco, stand out in elevation due to the contrast with the other structural walls in exposed brick.
The interior square, called Plaça del Llagut, becomes a green space and is equipped with playgrounds, as well as street furniture.
Andrea Palomino, Docomomo