From Zona Franca to La Marina: 100 Years of Social Housing in Barcelona 1925–2025 reveals, through photographs and plans – some previously unpublished – the evolution of social housing in the La Marina neighbourhoods, formerly known as Zona Franca, while also charting the architectural and social development of Barcelona.

According to Sandra Bestraten Castells, lecturer from the UIC Barcelona School of Architecture, “in this very special year, in which Barcelona is World Capital of Architecture 2026, it was important for La Marina to also showcase its urban planning model.” This model has undergone drastic changes since the late 19th century, as described in the book’s synopsis.

According to architect and lecturer Emili Hormias Laperal, co-author of the book, “the book is a tribute to the families of this neighbourhood, who have endured constant relocations and made it possible for Barcelona to become the city it is today.” The book’s other contributing author is Jaime Pérez, an architect specialising in housing rehabilitation, who describes La Marina as a “work of art”.

Synopsis

“After decades in which its beach served as a leisure destination for the bourgeoisie, the utopian ambition to create a free port in Barcelona ultimately turned it into a predominantly industrial area. The organisation of the 1929 Barcelona International Exhibition spurred the construction in the neighbourhood of one of the first four ‘Casas Baratas’ (affordable housing) complexes promoted by the Municipal Housing Board of Barcelona, founded two years earlier. This project marked the starting point for the development of new housing in La Marina, which over the past century has become a true laboratory for housing policies in the city.”

“In the 1950s, housing estates were built to rehouse residents of informal settlements, along with residential complexes for employees of major companies such as SEAT and Philips. Decade after decade, new public and private developments were added, designed by renowned architects with an innovative vision. [...] At the heart of these housing complexes lie the efforts of numerous community associations, central to the neighbourhoods’ urban and social advancement. In 1984, neighbourhood activism led to the development of the first reclaimed inner block in Barcelona: Can Sabater Park. Today, La Marina is home to a network of green urban areas and serves as a gateway to the parks and facilities of Montjuïc.”

The book presentation in the Pepita Casanellas Hall featured a round table discussion in which the audience and other architects from Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya and the Barcelona School of Architecture took part. The event was hosted by journalist Yohany Limpias and included an institutional address courtesy of Raquel Gil Eiroá, councillor for the Sants-Montjuïc District.

Photo by: Ajuntament de Barcelona