Can Fabra is an affordable housing project for young people built in the industrial warehouses at the Fabra i Coats complex, in the district of Sant Andreu del Palomar. Here, 44 homes of an average surface area of 64 m² have been built for young people aged between 18 and 35 years of age, with large communal spaces that they can share as needed. The construction was carried out according to sustainability criteria. These are the first social rental apartments to be built inside an industrial warehouse, preserving the building’s outer structure by means of a system inside the construction that separates the interior from the façades and takes advantage of the original build. Furthermore, the interior structure is practically all timber, a material with a very low environmental impact, and all the materials used are recycled and recyclable with a low energy impact.

This project received an Advanced Architecture Award in 2020 in recognition of the work of professionals who commit to innovation in the construction industry by generating new materials, developing alternative products, creating new experiences for users and promoting construction systems based on sustainability.

Roldán Berengué Arquitectes designed the project to transform the Fabra i Coats yarn storage warehouse into a social housing complex and a facility for Barcelona’s Colla Castellera Jove human tower association, receiving the AEDAS Homes Award for industrial construction. The prize recognises that the intervention in the warehouse activates all the original elements and reuses their physical, spatial and historical qualities to make the new construction more efficient and reinforce the nature of the original building.