Plaza Alta homes, Mairena del Aljarafe, Seville
A block crossed by a public passage that turns the homes towards the square
How do you complete a block while opening a public passage through it for the neighbourhood?
The proposal arranges the three buildings along a pedestrian axis that crosses the block from street to street beside a landscaped square, and opens all four entrances onto that route. The homes turn towards the square and the shops line the public passage.
In the north of Mairena del Aljarafe, on the boundary with San Juan de Aznalfarache, the Lepanto estate is a dense, established residential fabric where neighbours who have lived there for generations share the streets with families from many other countries. Here access to decent housing is hard: rentals are scarce, prices are rising and much of the available housing needs improvement.
On a 1,626 m² plot that had remained empty within the estate, EDDEA is designing 57 affordable homes in three buildings, with commercial units and a car park. The project makes use of the city that already exists, with the metro a ten-minute walk away, and gives the neighbourhood a new public square and a passage that crosses the block from street to street.
A square for the whole neighbourhood
The 1,466 m² landscaped square is delivered with the project: it opens up free space in a very dense setting and is conceived as a place where neighbours can meet and spend time together. The three buildings are arranged along a pedestrian route that skirts it and links the two streets; the four entrances open onto it, and shops occupy the ground floors on both sides, so that the passage is lined with activity.
Each building responds to its position: the tallest holds the main corner, another resolves the meeting of square, street and passage with two stepped volumes, and the third completes the ensemble on a narrow strip. The homes face the square, which becomes their great outdoor room.
Affordable housing, well resolved
The 57 homes, with two to four bedrooms, are designed for young people, families and older people looking for stability. All of them separate day and night areas and have two bathrooms and kitchens integrated into the living room, which can be closed off in the larger homes. The ground-floor homes are raised slightly above the square for privacy, and a single basement houses the parking and storage rooms.
Construction is simple and durable, with a concrete structure, brick façades and inverted roofs, and incorporates photovoltaic panels and mechanical ventilation to reduce the homes' energy consumption.