The Torre Júlia, a 17-storey block situated on the ring road in the north-east of Barcelona, contains sheltered public housing for senior citizens and stands directly next to an old-people’s home. To obtain an optimum east-west orientation for the dwellings, the tower was turned by 45° from the line of the street grid. This also helped to create forecourts to the two entrances, which are offset to each other by one storey to accommodate the slope of the site. To generate a sense of identity among residents, the storeys are divided into three groups with different colours. Each group comprises four to five floors. At one corner between each of these sections is a two-storey communal space and a laundry room. All residents have access to the ground floor hall and to the roof terrace, which commands a striking view over the city. Additional community spaces in the plinth storeys will be made available to outside users as well.
The six roughly 40–45 m2 flats on the standard floors consist of a basic type – with slight variations to the corner dwellings – laid out on both sides of a naturally lighted 2.10-metre-wide central corridor. Outside the entrances to the dwellings are fold-out tables that can be arranged by the tenants, thus lending a sense of identity to the environment.
The six roughly 40–45 m2 flats on the standard floors consist of a basic type – with slight variations to the corner dwellings – laid out on both sides of a naturally lighted 2.10-metre-wide central corridor. Outside the entrances to the dwellings are fold-out tables that can be arranged by the tenants, thus lending a sense of identity to the environment.