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Barcelona hands over 42 affordable flats on Carrer de Badajos
Barcelona has handed over the keys to 42 affordable rental homes at 11–15 Carrer de Badajos, in Poblenou. The project, known as Siberia, transforms a former ice factory into new homes and provides a small but important response to one of the city’s major problems: finding a flat at an affordable price.
The handover marks a real change for the people and families who are now moving into the building. In a neighbourhood with strong property pressure and high demand, gaining access to affordable housing without leaving Barcelona means gaining stability, routine and roots.
The complex is also one of the first examples of public-private collaboration to speed up the creation of affordable housing in the city. Barcelona City Council, Habitat3 and Coyoacan have driven the operation with the idea of reducing timeframes and making use of an existing building.
The location carries great weight. Poblenou combines economic activity, transport, shops, neighbourhood life and constant urban transformation. For the new tenants, living on Badajos Street means being close to services and connections without being pushed out to increasingly distant areas.
The building retains part of the site’s industrial memory. The former ice factory, which gave the Siberia project its name, has been converted into modern homes, with original elements integrated into a design adapted to current residential use.
The flats are designed for different living arrangements, from people living alone to families. Energy efficiency and brightness are part of the project, in line with a form of refurbishment that seeks not only to add homes, but to make them more comfortable and sustainable.
The operation comes at a time when Barcelona needs every available affordable development, especially in neighbourhoods where rental prices have pushed many residents out of the market. Forty-two flats do not solve the problem, but they do change the lives of those receiving the keys.
The transformation of Siberia provides a very clear image of Barcelona’s urban challenge: reusing buildings, caring for the memory of neighbourhoods and creating housing where transport, shops and daily life already exist. In a city with little land and high demand, converting a former factory into affordable homes is a clue to how the housing response can grow.