Gardens, squares and housing: revitalizing an old neighborhood thinking about people

OlotThe architectural transformation of Olot's old town is unstoppable. "There had been so many plans that the residents were tired and wanted action," says architect Eduard Callís, the founder along with Guillem Moliner of the studio Un Parell d'Arquitectes. This studio is responsible for a major recent development, the Pla de places i placetes d'Olot. This Saturday, Callís acted as a guide for these works to the public during a visit organized by the Association of Architects for the Defense and Intervention in Architectural Heritage (AADIPA) of the College of Architects of Catalonia. The most recent of these works are the Jardins de la Muralla, the result of injecting life into "a kind of empty space" that emerged from the demolition of a residential block about twenty years ago. "There were only two rows of plane trees and a clearing, and the residents were very interested in transforming the place into a garden, and in that garden connecting the city with the river," says the architect. The inauguration is scheduled for May 8.

Un Parell d'Arquitectes usually make a virtue of necessity, and Callís explains the innovations they have introduced with materials extracted from the work itself or from the municipal brigade's warehouse, including a path made with concrete slabs that previously formed a sidewalk, some benches, and some play structures that were moved. Furthermore, their vision of architecture is profoundly social: "We wanted to create the possibility of fostering bonds between neighbors, many of whom are of foreign origin. They know each other through collectives, but not personally, so we collaborated with choreographer Tomeu Vergès and Elena Masanas, who is a facilitator of community and organizational change processes in the Consorci d'Acció Social de la Garrotxa." Thus, the residents brought an object evocative of their relationship with the place, of which a brass version was made that the builders applied at different points along the route, in an act that was also a recognition of the builders. "It was very special, it ended with seven minutes of applause, and the residents and builders jumping while hugging each other," adds Callís.

One of the premises of the "Pla de places i placetes" is to recognize the idiosyncrasy of each square. "It is about understanding that public space also includes ground floors, homes, what happens behind the facades, and valuing heritage, even if it is sometimes not considered heritage," says Callís. "The teams have always been very cross-cutting and multidisciplinary –explains Gerard Moliner–. In all the squares we have also worked with Quim Domene, who is an artist, and in each project other technicians have been incorporated into the team".

Before the Muralla Gardens, A Couple of Architects completed the rehabilitation of the Plaça Major, which is once again shining with all its colours. "It is a rehabilitation that goes further, it is integral –warns Callís–. The balconies have been restored, air conditioning units have been removed, and shutters have been unified." The painting has taken 30% of the budget, and the rest was dedicated to combating structural pathologies of the exteriors. "We received the commission to change the pavement, but we came to the conclusion that at the price the project was costing, with that same amount in subsidies, the square could be transformed much more and its character could be valued much more than by intervening in the ground, where we changed the slabs and removed the planters –explains Callís–. This was also greatly encouraged by the neighbours, because, although they are public space projects, we actually work more on the margins, because we were very aware that this was the plot we could work on. But the Barri Vell needs more in-depth interventions than just changing a pavement or putting in a bench or a lamppost".

And another of their most emblematic works is Can Sau, an "emergency scenography" with which they dignified a party wall. "It was about transforming a plot into a square, a party wall into a facade, and with this facade we recovered the memory of the artisans who had worked in this neighborhood," says Callís. And "Good morning, Carme!, the interventions with which they revitalized the ground floors and the surroundings of Plaça del Carme. "To have a view of the general transformation – says Callís–. We haven't had a large budget, and we have focused on where we believed the problems were most urgent. We have taken advantage of every place, but at the same time it was like a way of thinking about the city from the point of view of the meantime. Instead of planning the city with large urban projects with large budget allocations, we have dignified the spaces with what we have, thinking about the resources and turning what is there around," says Moliner.

Recovering around 300 empty homes in the old town

Besides the work of Un Parell d'Arquitectes, architect Itziar González leads the Old Town Regeneration Project. "We realized that the Olot Squares and Small Squares Plan was not enough, because the old town, besides being old, was losing population, due to the typology of apartments and the typology of streets," says Josep Quintana, commissioner of the Old Town Regeneration Project. "It is a small late-medieval expansion, where the arrangement and distribution of the apartments barely allows for their rehabilitation on their own," says Quintana. For this reason, the action, which has a budget of around 25 million euros in the next five years, is planned by "blocks" to make it possible to dignify the homes with actions such as the installation of elevators and the opening of light wells. "The main problem with housing in the center of Olot is not speculation, but that there are people who could not make the minimum investment or that the building did not allow it," says Quintana. In the center of Olot there are more than 500 empty apartments. "There is demand from people who want to come to the center, many elderly people who live on the outskirts of Olot, which is a very extensive city, and would like to return to live in the center, for mobility reasons." Fifteen of the twenty-five million of the budget are provided by the Generalitat, because the Old Town Regeneration Project received the best score out of the eighty projects presented to the call for the Neighborhoods and Towns Plan 2025-2029 of the Generalitat. To move forward with the project and get to know the city in depth, Itziar González moved to Olot about two years ago. "We bet on doing it from within, with the people and the technicians and scientists of Olot, we have done a lot of km 0," states the architect.

More specifically, the awarding of the regeneration of the first blocks is planned for this year, with around 300 homes. Itziar González's project includes eight blocks or areas of building rehabilitation (ARE). It is in this area where the oldest buildings are located and the housing stock has deficits, with problems of "habitability, under-housing, structural deficiencies, accessibility, and energy efficiency". The City Council, through the Neighborhood Plan, will finance the necessary studies and will accompany the owners in creating community property and then they will have to make the investment to carry out the works. Owners who do not wish to make the investment will be able to sell the property, but the council reserves the right of first refusal and repurchase.