ARCH_419 International Housing Studio: ‘Barcelona. La Barceloneta’

Completed in 1779, La Barceloneta was the first neighborhood built outside the city walls of Barcelona and represents the first massive housing development in the history of Barcelona. The original military plan was based on two-story row houses forming a strict grid of linear blocks of ten houses. The house dimension was established as 10 by 10 varas. A “vara,” meaning rod or pole, is an old Spanish unit of length used until the end of 19th century. One vara equals 0.84 meters, almost 3 feet.

The neighborhood originally hosted families, commerce, industry, and leisure activities related to the port of Barcelona. With relentless population growth and immigration, the 141.12 square meter (1.519 square feet), two-story single-family row houses were divided into what was known as “quarter houses” of 35.28 square meters (379 square feet). The original two-story houses were seven varas tall, but were built as high as six stories by the end of the 19th century. This rapid increase in height created high-density buildings with 340 dwellings per hectare that still prevail today and continue to host the famous “quarter houses” next to Barceloneta Beach, which was redeveloped in 1995. Today, the dwindling local population coexists with uncontrolled low-cost tourism.