Worker housing in the Sant Andreu district of Barcelona

A dramatic departure from former construction methods, Casa Bloc was built between 1932 and 1936 at 101 Passeig de Torras i Bages in the Sant Andreu district of Barcelona. Constructed by Josep Lluís Sert, Josep Torres Clavé, and Joan Baptista Subirana, who were all members of the Catalan Group of Architects and Technicians for the Progress of Contemporary Architecture (GATCPAC), this building was part of a project to improve the living conditions of the socially disadvantaged. The architects proposed a new way of living that was just, accommodated co-existence and defended the collective identity.

Casa Bloc was an attempt at dignified housing for workers and was one of the first steps towards dignifying workers' living conditions. However, the project was cut short as a result of the Spanish Civil War. In 2012, the building was restored by the Institut Català del Sòl and the Institut de Cultura of Barcelona through the Disseny Hub Barcelona. Apartment number 1/11, now serving as a museum, encapsulates the original architecture and design.

The apartment's internal layout shows a simple and clear difference of day and night, reflecting the functional accommodation designed as a minimum standard for workers. This museumized space serves as a tribute to the work of Sert, Clavé, and Subirana and the innovation their approach embodied in the 1930s.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons