LaCol (Spain) Sample Clauses

LaCol (Spain). Context and activities LaCol is a cooperative of young architects based in Barcelona. It was founded in 2009. All its members were born in 1983 and were classmates in the University. XxXxx believes in the use of architecture for social transformation, using it as a tool for developing critical interventions in the local environment. This transformation starts in their horizontal way of organizing. LaCol is located in a neighbourhood with a strong cooperative tradition, Sants, which has had a strong influence on them. As a particularly virtuous example, XxXxx has managed to innovate in the praxis of a very rigid and formal field as it is the architecture. LaCol encourages the debate over the use of public spaces and city models, and they are a relevant actor in the dialogues and workshops about to the city architecture. According to them, the right path to transform the city is through active participation of the citizens. For that reason, they develop participatory processes in the projects they organize or they are involved in. Interesting features of the initiative One of LaCol´s more relevant project so far has been the restoration of one building of an old textile factory located in Sants, Can Batlló. The building was handed over to the neighbours by the City Council after months of struggles to get the rights to use the building for social purposes. Today Can Batlló is a self-organized social centre, with a library, a café, an auditorium and plenty of meeting spaces. The restoration was designed with high environmental standards: they tried to recycle and reuse all the materials that were already in the old facility, therefore minimizing the debris produced. In addition, they prioritize the use of natural and recyclable materials as it is the wood. Can Batlló was not the only project of LaCol with a strong social dimension. LaCol is currently involved in the construction of a housing cooperative and undertaking a study for Barcelona’s City Council, which evaluates the future restoration of another building in the same old factory premises. The building would host Coopolis, a public office giving support to social economy initiatives. The issue of the participatory processes, the fact that they are the first cooperative of architects and the restoration of Can Batlló made them well-known in Barcelona.