The first Monday of October marks World Architecture Day, a date that takes on particular significance in Barcelona in 2026. This year, the city hosted the World Congress of Architecture and also commemorated the centenary of Gaudí’s death. One of the issues at the centre of the debate has been access to housing, particularly for younger people.

Although not the only solution, expanding Spain’s stock of public housing is one way of addressing the housing crisis. Barcelona City Council acquired the property at Carrer de l'Hospital, 116 in 2017, and in 2023 awarded the building’s rehabilitation to Mias Architects, the practice led by Josep Miàs, a lecturer at the School of Architecture.

“Rehabilitating a building means becoming part of its history”

The Barcelona Municipal Institute of Housing and Rehabilitation (IMHAB) stipulated in the tender that as many original features as possible should be preserved. “It was complete chaos. The structure was damaged, the staircases had been altered and we did not even know whether there was a sewage system,” recalls Miàs. “If we were going to rehabilitate the building, we had to intervene with great precision and distinguish between what had value and what did not,” he adds.

“Whenever possible, I am in favour of rehabilitation,” explains the architect. Some of the timber beams and part of the original structure were retained “to preserve the spirit of the building”, says Miàs. “I am particularly enthusiastic about projects like this because you are adding a new chapter to the building's history while preserving the sense that something existed before,” he notes. In this regard, Josep Miàs sought to respect the original work of Elies Rogent i Amat, the nineteenth-century Catalan architect who worked primarily in Barcelona.

Lady Raval: a communal courtyard featuring ceramic elements

The rehabilitation project, Lady Raval, which received recognition at the Loop Design Awards, stands out for the building's inner courtyard, clad in ceramic tiles featuring patterns and geometries inspired by the residents' places of origin and rendered in vibrant colours. Architect and ceramicist Carlos Jiménez Cenamor is the creative force behind the intervention.

“Drawing on references to domestic and everyday life, including textiles, food and tools, the space seeks to pay tribute to the community's heritage,” the project description explains. One of the main objectives was to restore the flow of air and natural light by reopening the vertical courtyards and adding new windows and internal balconies. The rehabilitated residential block now also includes two lifts.

Industrialised social housing: the central theme of this year's final-year projects

On 19, 20 and 21 October, final-year Architecture students will present their Bachelor's Degree Final Projects at Roca Barcelona Gallery, with Josep Miàs serving as one of the project supervisors. “The students have devised social housing solutions based on industrialised systems that can also be scaled for populations of up to 50,000 inhabitants,” explains Miàs. 

The students therefore approach social housing not simply as a one-off, small-scale intervention, but as a technique that can be adapted for small and medium-sized towns and cities. “Every city has very different realities, and I enjoy working on international projects that challenge students,” concludes the lecturer.