“Improvistos†Aims To Bring Better Housing And More Work To Alfafar
Just outside of Valencia, Spain, there is a suburb called Alfafar. This region has fallen on hard economic times after the collapse of the timber industry upon which many of its residents depended on. This has led to houses that cost $150,000 towards the beginning of the 2000s being valued at just $20,000 now. The area is in need of housing and work solutions.
MarÃa Méndez and Gonzalo Mancebo have been working on creating just that. They have created the concept for a project called “Improvistos†that will blur the lines between personal and private space to bring much-needed housing to over 5,000 Alfafar residents.
“Improvistos†depends on the ideas of co-housing, working to create a working/living space that will make it easier for human and material resources to be exchanged. It is intended to be put up in Barrio Orba, offering around 2,800 units, though unit will be loosely defined. There will be common areas and satellite rooms that make the space more flexible.
They hope that this kind of construction will also encourage an exchange of services for goods, or even an extra room. Méndez offered the example of an aging senior living next to a family short on income. The family could help the senior out a few times a week in exchange for payment, creating an environment in which everyone is best served.
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