Design and materials of the auteur social housing: the case study of Santa María Micaela housing complex by Santiago Artal Ríos

Abstract

In Spain, although with a certain delay compared to other countries, social housing has had a singular evolutionary history through the design experiments of famous architects and the adoption of innovative technologies for the construction of the most important works considered today the architectural heritage of every city. The contribution will illustrate peculiarities and original solutions present in Iberian social housing through an in-depth study of a case study carried out in Valencia in the late 1950s by architect Santiago Artal Ríos. In the Santa María Micaela complex, the relationships between the formal component, principles of the Modern Movement and technical-constructive aspects were skillfully highlighted, paying particular attention to the use of materials both in terms of formal characterization and performance contribution. Artal Ríos arranges and shapes the three building blocks following the shape of the lot, thus creating a closure from the outside, emphasized by the single entrance placed along the lowest building, to guard the large interior common spaces. In his design he skillfully achieves more than one balance between different subsystems (technological-constructive, organizational-distributive, environmental-climatic, figurative-formal), which in turn generate others between the supporting structure and aesthetic expression. The resisting frame masterfully punctuates the metrics of the elevations. Within the grid, formed by exposed concrete beams and pillars with 45-degree chamfered edges and a pitch of 4.80 m x 4.80 m, fixed elements (yellow exposed bricks and red under-window panels), movable elements (iron window frames and wooden shutters) and lattice elements (white concrete perforated square screens) are inserted, creating a constant alternation and movement between opacity, transparency and color.