Architecture + Analysis
September 2022
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A 6-floor Social Housing with Cantilevering Units in Spain. 2 Blocks but 6 Towers.
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Built in 2007, the 102 Dwellings is a social housing project in Carabanchel, a district populated with immigrants in Madrid. As the name suggests, the project has 102 identical dwellings as the linear core with two scale of rectangular blocks being plugged in as additional bedroom modules. Thus, three type of units are constructed, including 52 single dwellings, 45 double modules and 5 triple modules. The building is a concrete construction with overhanging steel structure attached as modules, creating volumes floating in the air.
The building is seemingly composed of two rectangular blocks which is commonly believed that units on each floor are connected by a long corridor. Yet, the additional modules has cut off the corridor into fragments which each units could only be accessed by a specific staircases. The building is actually composed of 6 towers with 6 individual staircases interlocking each other.
