I have seen their social housing. And I want one too!
Well, we just update them: we expand the surface area of ??the flats, we add balconies, terraces and galleries, we isolate them acoustically and thermally to make them more livable and sustainable…
It’s not a small thing.
And we adapt the habitability – number of rooms, distribution – to the changing needs of the tenant.
And now they enjoy more views and light.
Which were often not used because they had small or poorly oriented windows: we have opened windows, attached galleries for plants, some tables and chairs to enjoy them…
With expensive, long and annoying works?
Throughout the entire improvement work we allow the residents to continue living there; we never do demolitions and we are very aware of the costs.
And then they don’t raise the rent?
In this we were very strict with the public administrations that own the buildings: under no circumstances did we allow the monthly payment to be increased.
Here, if you invest in improving your flat, the owner can raise the rent.
Well, it’s unfair. And because of these issues, improving social housing – we never demolish it – is a task for architects as well as lawyers, politicians, urban planners…
Could you improve social housing in Spain as you have done in Paris?
Each building is a different challenge due to its ownership structure, construction quality and age. And in Spain it is more difficult, because the owners are usually private and numerous and it is very difficult to get them all to agree to start reforms.
What did we do wrong here?
In France, after the war, the State started huge investments in social housing and always on a rental basis.
Franco concentrated on giving flats in property to create a middle class.
Spain opted for owner-occupied housing and, on the other hand, in France the owner of the social flats was the Administration and thanks to this today it is easier to update them. Here it is not easy to get 50 owners to agree to update a building today.
Can this model of yours to update flats be applied everywhere?
More than a model, it’s a point of view: if something breaks I can fix it. If a building is struggling, we study what works and what doesn’t and what is left over or missing. Never demolish it without more to erect another.
Can’t apply the same renovation project to several buildings?
We have intervened in large areas of Paris, Bordeaux and Saint-Nazaire and each has required different actions, because the climate, the environment and its residents are also different.
Who pays you for these works?
We have always found solutions that did not involve raising the rent, but through the intervention of the banks with loans to public investors for 30 or 40 years, which are then paid with the income.
Doni’ns an example.
In Paris, for example, we had a project to update 530 homes and the public owner requested a 30-year loan from the private bank. The advantage, of course, is that there is only one owner.
Some critics deplore the quality of Spanish Soviet social housing.
I would never talk about anyone’s home like that. I prefer to refer to updating private residences of public ownership.
His big project?
In Paris, we studied 1,848 actions to create housing, offices, shops… on built-up surface under public ownership.
I imagine it is very complex.
It is easier to get public investment for new construction than to refurbish what already exists, so we will sell and rent some properties to pay for refurbishing them all. Again, lawyers and politicians will be as important as the architect.
Do you make friends with the residents?
I fondly remember Mrs. Ramos from Bordeaux who had a T3 (dining room and two bedrooms) and who followed the entire work in detail until enjoying her new small terrace with us. She was a construction worker.
What part of your renovation is most appreciated by tenants?
In Bordeaux, they love the winter terraces and dining there. On the other hand, in Paris, they start by putting furniture in it.
What has he learned that he can teach us?
That bricks and spaces should not be planned, but activities and intentions: don’t think about rooms and square meters, but about how to eat outdoors, do gymnastics, sunbathe…
