On the Nort-Eastern side of Barcelona, a natural barrier breaks through a sequence of neighborhoods. As the Besos River reaches up to Bon Pastor and Santa Coloma, a bridge appears; one of few connections between the two neighborhoods.
The bridge takes part of an axis reaching from Santa Coloma, across Besos and La Ronda, through the poligono, and across the coming Sagrera Park, to Sant Andreu. Industrial Metamorphosis uses a carved version of its already existing tissue to connect its four surrounding neighborhoods, in a bidirectional way. By structuring the public “chambers” in a termitary-based manner, it aims to strengthen the area’s social structure, while keeping its productivity. In the most important intersection point, a landmark of a tower will represent all closeby neighborhoods as its program shapes the professional future of the coming generations.
Vertically, the tower follows the same logic of the termitary. Chambers as gardens- and plazas are connected with paths, creating a vertical neighborhood. The permeable structure is a result of three factors; aligning with the preexisting structural rhythm in the bottom, the new structure of the typology, and the collision of the two in the center.
The typology is based on the 'dogtrot house', which separates volumes with a breathing core. The tetris-like strategy adopted from Le Corbusiers 'L'unite de habitat' saves space from corridors, and an asymmetric vertical rhythm of 'half-floors' reduces the climb of the resident. As the dogtrot core is oriented to the North to catch the breeze, the resulting steppes in the East- and West allows each dwelling to benefit from both the indirect North light and the direct South light.
The floorplan is arranged with the living part where it catches the sun, bedrooms with openings to the core, and study space where it benefits from the North light. The module is composed of a glazed core inside the central structure, and two light, prefabricated volumes plugged in from each side.
