In December 2019, the works of APROP (Alojamientos de Proximidad Provisionales), a building constructed with ship containers, finished. It is located on Nou de Sant Francesc street, located in the Ciutat Vella district. It was created with a very clear purpose: to house people who had been evicted or were in the process of being evicted. Now, it has been chosen as one of the two Barcelona projects awarded by the New European Bauhaus.
These awards are organized by the European Commission and focus on good practices and concepts such as sustainability, aesthetics and inclusion. In the case of APROP, it has been awarded in the category of modular, adaptable and mobile living solutions. This is a temporary project: all the housing is rented and is provisional, as it is allocated until the tenants can be offered permanent housing.
The other Barcelona project that has won this award is Terrats d’en Xifré, a 1,500-square-meter green space with a vegetable garden located on the roof that connects six buildings between the Born and Ciutat Vella neighborhoods.
In all, the New European Bauhaus prizes have been awarded in ten different categories; the winners of each will receive 30,000 euros.
This is not the only building of the style to be constructed in Barcelona. In Sants there is now, for example, a modular building constructed with “prefabricated” apartments that stack up like Lego, making it possible to build a 40-unit apartment building in just 10 days.