The document proposes a three-phase plan to transform an unused superblock in Barcelona into a productive "telecommuting city" by first activating home offices and unused garages, then adding modular workspaces, and finally redefining public and private spaces at the urban scale through accessible interior blocks. The goal is to generate local economy through telecommuting while making the community more adaptable. Diagrams and renderings show how underutilized areas could be transformed at different scales over time.

1. Faculty: Areti Markopoulou, Tomas Diez SUPERBLOCK 23: Hulda Jónsdóttir
MANY SLOW CITIES Advisor: Salvador Rueda Vicente Gascó
INTO A SMART CITY Assistants: Ionna Spanou, Tomas Vivanco Jesús Sapien
A NEW PARADIGM FOR THE SLOW CITY:
THE (TELE) COMMUTING CITY

2. BARCELONA SUPERBLOCKS_MANY SLOW CITIES INTO A SMART CITY
Superblock Location - City Scale

3. BARCELONA SUPERBLOCKS_MANY SLOW CITIES INTO A SMART CITY
Superblock - Block Scale

4. BARCELONA SUPERBLOCKS_MANY SLOW CITIES INTO A SMART CITY
Leisure
Commercial
Service
Residential
Industrial
Clinics
Private garages
Public buildings
Empty lots / construction
Uses at ground floor level Uses at second floor Uses at third floor
Clockwise
Fabra i Puig
Carrer de Sagrera
Characteristics: Mostly Residential Superblock
Carrer de Castellbell
Riera de Sant Andreu

5. BARCELONA SUPERBLOCKS_MANY SLOW CITIES INTO A SMART CITY
Service-based economy
High concetration of
in the interior, sales-
garages or storage spaces
based economy in the
at the ground level cause
exterior.
inactivity in parts of the
(commerce and leisure).
Superblock, principally in
the right and upper-right of
it.
Characteristics:
Service-Commerce Economy Areas of Ground Level Inactivity

6. BARCELONA SUPERBLOCKS_MANY SLOW CITIES INTO A SMART CITY
Leisure business
Commercial business
Service business
High activity
during day
High activity
during night
High activity
during weekdays
High Activity during the day High Activity during the night High Activity during the weekend
During the day, activity is highly
concentrated around the bordering streets
of the superblock and respond to clusters
of commercial stores while during the night
and the weekdays, activity is related to
open spaces and leisure places such as
bars and restaurants.
Low activity areas are in direct proportion
to areas with high concentration of closed
garages or storage areas in the ground
floor.
Low activity
Garages
Characteristics: Activity Behaviour

7. BARCELONA SUPERBLOCKS_MANY SLOW CITIES INTO A SMART CITY
Superblock 23: Sant Andreu
District 9
Barrio Sant Andreu
55,813 hab.
184.1 hectareas
Density: 303 hab / ha.
(3rd most dense in district)
Sant Andreu in Numbers

8. BARCELONA SUPERBLOCKS_MANY SLOW CITIES INTO A SMART CITY
lack of (open space)
Activate “death” areas
(adaptability)
Introduce productivity into a
residential superblock
(open space)(adaptability)(productivity) = ?
Diagnosis

9. BARCELONA SUPERBLOCKS_MANY SLOW CITIES INTO A SMART CITY
Work as a verb, not a place...
a new paradigm for the slow city.
TO
Work
Relations
Workmates
Career
Transportation
Family
Friends
TRANSPORTATION Space
Community
WORKPLACE HOUSE TELECOMMUTING CITIES
35% of workers telecommute*...
57%
In Europe,
Only 26% workers in Spain telecommute, but
would like to have the option.
... increasing interest in telecommuting by
companies and government
*at least 10 hours a week to be considered telecommuting...
data according to the Telework Research Network and Open Mart

10. BARCELONA SUPERBLOCKS_MANY SLOW CITIES INTO A SMART CITY
hypothesis
Does telecommuting have the capacity of generating
local economy? Is telecommuting a solution for more
adaptable, multidisciplinary communities?

11. BARCELONA SUPERBLOCKS_MANY SLOW CITIES INTO A SMART CITY
Application Proposal
1 st
PHASE IMMEDIATE
+
HOME OFFICES GARAGES
2 nd
PHASE 1-2 YEARS
MODULAR STRUCTURES
+
DIGITAL APP
3 rd
PHASE 5-10 YEARS
URBAN LEVEL
“Turning unused spaces into
productive ones at different
scales in different time lapses.”
Proposal

12. BARCELONA SUPERBLOCKS_MANY SLOW CITIES INTO A SMART CITY
(left) Study of office configurations for apartments and small spaces
and sketch studies for garages.
(top) Orientations analysis for the garages. Natural and artificial light-
ing and artificial ventilation are used.
Proposal: First Phase, Home-Offices and Emergent Offices/Business

13. BARCELONA SUPERBLOCKS_MANY SLOW CITIES INTO A SMART CITY
Areas with the best conditions for emergent garages is The proposal concentrates on activating low activity areas by
selected. Based on those areas closer to esential services changing block typologies and reconfiguring open / public
such as printing boutiques, banks, office materials, etc. space relations.
Proposal: Second Phase

14. BARCELONA SUPERBLOCKS_MANY SLOW CITIES INTO A SMART CITY
Proposal: Second Phase

15. BARCELONA SUPERBLOCKS_MANY SLOW CITIES INTO A SMART CITY
ACTIVATE UNUSED INTERIOR REDEFINE THE ROLE OF
BLOCK SPACES AS SEMI STREETS / BUILT SPACE
PUBLIC-PRIVATE OPEN RELATION.
SPACES.
USE GARAGES AS PORTALS
BETWEEN STREETS AND
THE LAST PHASE OF THE PROPOSAL IS TO INTERIOR SPACES.
TRANSFORM BLOCKS INDIVIDUALLY WITHIN
THE SUPERBLOCK. BY TRANSFORMING
DENSITY / OPEN SPACE RELATIONS, THE
PROPOSAL BLURRIES THE LINE BETWEEN
STREETS AND OPEN SPACES WITHIN THE
BLOCKS.
Proposal: Third Phase: Future, Urban Level

16. BARCELONA SUPERBLOCKS_MANY SLOW CITIES INTO A SMART CITY
BLOCK TYPOLOGY
Development of the Cerda block
have turned most of the blocks
interior into wasted inaccesible
spaces.
The proposals uses renovated
garages as portals to the interior
of the blocks from the street.
Accesible interiors redefine the
built / unbuilt relations and provide
a useful platform for new
development such as green areas
or supporting infrastructure for
emergent business and for
telecommuters.
Emergent business often share a
common space inside the block.
This could become a common
platform for them.
Proposal: Third Timelapse: Future, Urban Level

17. BARCELONA SUPERBLOCKS_MANY SLOW CITIES INTO A SMART CITY
Proposal: Third Timelapse: Future, Urban Level

18. BARCELONA SUPERBLOCKS_MANY SLOW CITIES INTO A SMART CITY
Proposal: Third Timelapse: Future, Urban Level