184 Social Housing Tower / MCBAD architecture&urban design

Text description provided by the architects. First price in the Spanish competition of social housing, the project has stood the test of time, being a witness and symbol of a historical period of profound repercussions for Spain. It began in 2009, in the midst of the economic crisis, for more than a decade the fossilized structure of building stood out in the urban landscape, becoming an allegory of the years of crisis in the Valencian collective imagination. The 2021-2024 marks a turning point, reflecting the country’s economic recovery and the new social housing policy. Having reached the “top”, it begins its life in 2024 with an even more sustainable, more connected and more resilient building. On 10/29/2024, in Valencia, the DANA floods the Horta Sud neighborhoods and causes the evacuation of many families. In this housing emergency, the building becomes the first refuge for victims of the disaster, affirming its human and social vocation beyond its architectural role.

Located south of the city of Valencia, in the district of La Torre, Horta Sud. The place is markedly delimited to the north by the artificial landscape of the new channel and Valencia city. And to the south through the Huerta. The neighborhood, originally known as “Sociopolis,” revitalizes the southern residential areas with a set of ten tower buildings and a large urban park, turning the place into an exceptional environment. The plot borders the existing neighborhood and is connected to the city by the “Pasarela de la Solidaridad”. The building is integrated into its immediate surroundings through a horizontal “plinth” volume of a domestic scale that dialogues with the existing buildings. And with the great landscape on a metropolitan scale, with the two vertical emergencies.

The relationship of the dual-oriented homes with their surroundings is the starting point of the project. A central backbone element concentrates the server spaces and the technical structure of the building, freeing the most flexible and evolutionary main spaces. The panoramic dwellings are open to the landscape, sea and mountains. The generous outdoor spaces extend the home towards the outside. Protected by a system of sliding slats that promote climatic comfort, they are designed as just another room.

The building is accessed through a covered exterior transition space, connecting the public plaza with the four hallways. The areas for bikes and mailboxes are associated with these spaces. The four circulations are connected through the common fourth floor terrace provided with a shared space; An associative space on the ground floor and shops complete the program. The modulated structure simplifies technical issues, turning the building into an evolutionary project for future transformations. The self-production of sustainable aerothermal and photovoltaic solar energy, the use of low-carbon materials on the facades and the cross ventilation of the building, allow us to create a degree of resilient comfort for future inhabitants.