Use and perception of the Carabanchel flexible housing, by Aranguren & Gallegos architects

Abstract

This paper shows the study of the experimentally flexible housing project in Carabanchel (Madrid) by architects Aranguren & Gallegos. This Post-Occupancy Evaluation offers relevant information concerning real-life experience of the users, their interaction with the flexible architecture of the project and the strengths and weaknesses of flexibility within the Spanish context. The final aim of this research work is to know if the flexible strategies implemented in this project offer in practice more freedom in the use of the apartments, and under what conditions these strategies could be replicated (or not) in new housing projects. The presence and the age of children, the education level and the housing allocation system prove to be critical factors in determining people's attitudes towards flexibility (pro or against).