Cooperative housing in Barcelona

The neighborhood movement The cooperative housing model in Spain played a particular role during the 1960s-1970s when people in search of affordable housing explored cooperative schemes extensively (Quaderns, 2014). After the economic recession of 2008 and the burst of the real estate bubble, people started questioning many generally accepted notions of identity, collectively and of social and cultural needs (Baraona Pohl, 2017). At that moment, many social movements emerged as a reaction, such as the "Platform for Mortgage Victims" (Plataforma de Afectados por la Hipoteca, known as PAH). An important experiment inspired by these movements was La Borda, located in the neighborhood of Sants, at a plot that forms part of Can Batlló, a former industrial site built in the late nineteenth century. The project occurred as a reaction from a neighborhood movement to a process of urban renewal which the residents felt that was going against their interests and needs, causing distraction and fear of the loss of the local identity. This was the reason the neighborhood movement ‘Recuperem Can Batllo’ took the initiative to occupy the site, demonstrating the importance of the local communities’ opinions in the processes of urban development. The case of La Borda manifests how urban movements can achieve greater control in the process of recuperation and regeneration of an existing urban area to imagine and build spaces that reflect their values and needs (Avilla-Royo et al., 2021). Active participation The project started in 2012 as a result of informal meetings, with an initial core of 15 people, consisting of actors who were already active in the neighborhood, including members of the architectural cooperative "Lacol", members of the labour cooperative "La Ciutat invisible", members of the association "Sostre Civic" and people from different association movements in the area. After a long process of public participation and negotiation with the municipality of Barcelona, an agreement was signed in 2014, and the group opened to new members, arriving from 15 to 45. After another two years of work, the construction started in 2017 and the first residents entered in 2018. The word participation often appears as a buzzword, as it is being co-opted to refer to processes of consultation or manipulation of the participants to legitimise decisions, thus ending up as an empty signifier. By identifying the hierarchies entailed in such processes, we can recognize higher levels of participation, based on horizontality, reciprocity, and mutual respect where participants not only have equal access in forming a decision but are also able to take control and self-manage the whole process. This was the case of La Borda, a project that followed a democratic participation process, self-development, and self-management. Another important element was the transdisciplinary way in which the group collaborated with architects, environmental engineers, local organisations, and professionals from the social economy sector with whom they were sharing the same ideals and values. According to Avilla-Royo et al. (2021) greater involvement and agency of dwellers throughout the lifetime of a project is a key characteristic of the cooperative housing movement in Barcelona. In that way, the group collectively discussed, imagined, and developed the housing environment that best covered their needs in typological, material, economic or managerial terms. The group of forty-five people was divided into different working committees to discuss the diverse topics that were part of the housing scheme: architecture, cohabitation, economic model, legal policies, communication, and internal management. These committees formed the basis for a decision-making assembly. The committees would adapt throughout the process as new needs would arise, for example, the “architectural” committee that was responsible for the building development, was converted into a “maintenance and self-building” committee once the building was inhabited. Apart from the specific committees, the general assembly was also taking place, where all the subgroups will present and discuss their work. All adult members had to be part of one committee and meet every two weeks. The members’ involvement in the co-creation and management of the cooperative significantly reduced the costs and helped in creating the social cohesion needed for such a project to succeed. The legal model The tenure model that is being used is under the term "cession of use" or "grant of use", which refers to the right of the tenants to occupy a housing unit without having ownership of the property. The examples of the Andel model from Denmark (Cooperativa de Cesión de Uso, 2018; Estado de La Vivienda Cooperativa En  Cesión de Uso En Cataluña, 2021)and the FUCVAM model from Uruguay (FUCVAM – Cooperativas de Vivienda Por Ayuda Mutua, n.d.) are the two key references that were studied for the development of a similar model adapted in the Spanish context. At the same time, previous cooperative projects in Catalonia were studied as references, such as Cal Cases (Cal Cases, 2020). The leasehold with Barcelona's City Council leased the plot to the cooperative for 75 years with the obligation of an annual fee. After this period the property will return to the municipality, or a new agreement should be signed. As the project is constructed on public land and is classified as “State-Subsidized Housing” (HPO), all the members had to comply with social housing requirements, such as having a maximum monthly income and not owning property. Also, since it is characterised as HPO there is a celling to the monthly fee to be charged for the use of the housing unit, thus keeping the housing accessible to groups with lower economic power. This makes this scheme a way to provide social housing with the active participation of the community, keeping the property public in the long term. The cooperative model of “cession of use” means that all residents are members of the cooperative, which owns the building. Being members means that they are the ones to make decisions about how it operates, including legal, legislative, and economic issues as well as issues concerning the infrastructure. The fact that the members are not owners offers protection and provides for non-speculative development, as sub-letting or transfer of use is not possible. In the case that someone decides to leave, the apartment returns to the cooperative which then decides on the new resident. This is a model that promotes long-term affordability as it prevents housing from being privatized using a condominium scheme. The building The cooperative group together with architects and the rest of the team, and after a series of workshops and discussions, concluded on the needs of the dwellers and on the distribution of the private and communal spaces. A general strategy was to remove area -and functions- from the private apartments and create bigger community spaces that could be enjoyed by everyone. Thus, out of the 2950 m2 of the total built environment, 280 m2 are devoted to communal spaces (10% of the total built area). They are placed around the central courtyard and include a community kitchen and dining room, a multipurpose room, a laundry room, a co-working space, a guests’ room, shared terraces, a small community garden, storage rooms, and bicycle parking. The private apartments are 28 with three typologies (40,50 and 76 m2), covering the needs of different households, such as single adults, adult cohabitation, families, or single parents with kids. The grid upon which the apartments are based as well as the modular structure offers flexibility for future modification of the size of the apartments. In relation to the structure, the objective was to create an environmentally sustainable solution and minimize the embedded carbon. For that, the foundation was created as close to the surface as possible, using suspended flooring a meter above the ground to aid with the insulation. Also, the structure of cross-laminated timber (CLT) was used after the ground floor, which was made of concrete, and for the next six floors, having the advantage of being lightweight and low-carbon. The CLT was used for both the flooring and the foundation. In relation to the materials, there was an emphasis on the optimization of the building solutions, by using less quantity for the same purpose, using recycled and recyclable materials, and reusing waste (Cooperativa d’habitatges La Borda, 2020)Also, the cooperative used industrialized elements and applied waste management, separation, and monitoring. According to interviews from the architectural cooperative (Lacol arquitectura cooperativa, 2020), an important element for minimizing the construction cost was the substitute of the underground parking, which was mandatory from the local legislation when you exceed a certain number of housing units, with overground parking for bicycles. La Borda was the first development that succeeded not only in being exempted from this legal obligation but also in convincing the municipality of Barcelona to change the legal framework so that new cooperative or social housing developments can obtain an “A” energy ranking without having to construct underground parking. Energy performance In terms of energy consumption, the project aimed in reducing the energy demand by prioritizing passive strategies. This was pursued with the bioclimatic design of the building with the covered courtyard as an element that plays a central role, as it offers cross ventilation during the warm months and acts as a greenhouse during the cold months. Another passive strategy was enhanced insulation which exceeds the proposed regulation level. The climate comfort proposal occurred as a result of surveys with the future tenants. According to the first data that was gathered from the Arkenova monitoring system and with support from the Barcelona energy office, the total average energy consumption of electricity, DHW, and heating per m² of homes in La Borda is 20.25 kWh / m², which is a reduction of 68% compared to a block of similar characteristics in the Mediterranean area, which is 62.61 kWh / m² (Com de Sostenible Realment És La Borda?, 2020). Finally, renewable energy is being used with the recent installation of solar panels. Scalability According to (Cabré & Andrés, 2018), the initiative was a result of three contextual factors. First and foremost, La Borda appeared in response to the housing crisis that was especially acute in Barcelona. Secondly, at that time there was a momentum when social economy was being promoted and a cooperative movement in relation to affordable housing emerged. Finally, the moment coincided with a strong neighbourhood movement related to the urban renewal of the industrial site of Can Batllo. La Borda, being a bottom-up, self-initiated project is not only a housing cooperative case but also an example of social innovation that has multiple objectives apart from the main which is the provision of affordable housing. The novel way that the group invented for addressing the housing crisis in Barcelona, being the first one to use this kind of leasehold in Spain has a particular value of social innovation. The process that was followed was innovative as the group had to co-create the project, including the co-design and self-construction, negotiate with the municipality the cession of land, and develop the financial models for the project. The project is aiming in integrating with the neighbourhood and not creating a niche project, opening possibilities for scaling up and diffusion, as for example with the committee for public sharing that organizes open days and lectures. In the end, by fostering the community’s understanding of housing issues, urban governance, and by seeking sustainable solutions, learning to resolve conflicts, negotiate and self-manage as well as developing mutual support networks and peer learning, these types of projects appear as outcomes but also as drivers of social transformation.