project - *estel

Revitalising Montornès Nord neighborhood

Pla de Barris in 2010, carried out in Montornès Nord a diagnosis of public spaces system identifying those who needed an improvement intervention; the “Pergola” square and the street “Llibertat”. In addition to these, the neighbors reclaimed the improvement of two more spaces; the street “9 d’Abril” and the square of “Pergola”. Based on that identification of those four spaces, the municipality charged Estel* to run the improvement processes.

Initially, the strategies for neighbors’ implication were designed so to realize a collaborative analysis and diagnosis of these spaces. Meetings with citizens (direct participation) and observation (indirect participation) were carried out to establish a direct communication channel with the residents and learn the daily dynamics of the area.

Regarding the proposal phase, the process has been developed in a way to be adapted in the conclusions of the diagnosis. Specifically, three of these projects attached to the street “Llibertat” were grouped into one. The fourth space was tackled with an independent process which suited better the needs of the environment.

In parallel to the process of defining improvement strategies for the selected areas, it has been worked the administrative dynamics through interviews with council personnel so to analyze the policies of the different departments regarding public spaces.

Place

Montornès del Vallès

[16,263 inhabitants]

Scale of the project

Neighborhood

Type of project

Citizen cooperation

Public space design

Duration

6 months (2015)

Promoter

Muicipality of Montornès

del Vallès

Team

*estel (Arnau Boix,

Mireia Peris, Ara Muñío,

Esteve Boix, Marc Deu)

Itziar González, Arquect

Collaborated

Neighbors of Montornès

Nord

Entities and associations

(culture, economy,

education)

Study

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Press

The Pine’s plaza

The Pine's Plaza

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19_PE1707_PPB_Minifairo_04_identittat_taller

19_PE1707_PPB_Minifairo_01_Benifairo_planol_general

The project for the reformation of the square (plaça) del Pi at Benifairo de la Valldigna incorporated since the beginning the inhabitants, especially children. The square holds an important part at the village’s entrance, creating a “bridge” between nursery and primary school and hosting el “Pi redó”, an emblematic tree which during the years turned into a meeting place -physical and symbolic- for every inhabitant.

Initially, collaborative work took place including agents related to the project so to identify the main deficiencies of the space and define strategic lines for the future project. Once agreed, these ideas were specified progressively in order to create an urban design project.

During the process, various participative techniques were used: from group interviews with the city’s technical-political team and with professionals linked to the school, to workshops with children, recording of memories regarding Pí redó and its surroundings, and open sessions in the public space with inhabitants.

The proposal redefines the mobility circulation at the entrance and exit of the village, eliminates part of the parking space that is underused so that many square meters are freed up creating spaces of quality to pass time and play both for adults and children.

Place

Benifairó de la Valldigna

[1,580 inhabitants]

Scale

Public space

Type of project

Urban strategies

Citizen cooperation

Public space design

Duration

Collaborative Diagnosis:

6 months [2017]

Urban design project:

3 months [2017]

Site management:

3 months [2018]

Promoter

Muicipality of Benifairó de

la Valldigna

Team

*estel (Arnau Boix, Marc Deu,

Konstantina Chrysostomou)

Monodestudio, Urbanins,

Siete arquitectura más

ingeniería s.l.

Collaborated

Neighbors of Benifairó de la

Valldigna,

Children and educational team

of James II el Just primary

school

Featured project

Plaza Maresme

10_PE1501_PDM_PlMaresme_04_Planta_Proposta

10_PE1501_PDM_PlMaresme_05_Seccions_Proposta

The project approaches the Maresme Square (Plaça Maresme) and its surroundings with an integrated way through a complex project that goes from collaborative diagnosis to executive re-design project and site management.

The project was a municipal initiative to embrace the social dynamics that were already taking place in Plaça Maresme, as a meeting point for both residents of the neighborhood and users of the sports facilities attached to the public space.

Socio-territorial studies and masterplan held a significant participatory deployment that included neighbors, neighborhood organizations and associations and children from both nearby schools and Municipal Children’s council. As a result of the analysis of the urban dynamics that were taking place and the dialogue between the various agents involved, it established the strategic lines of the project from which, on the one hand, it was drafted the urban planning project and on the other hand it promoted a series of measures to improve coexistence and citizen empowerment.

The redesign of the square highlights the value of the adjoining buildings, dignifies their accesses, improves their between connection and enhances active mobility through the pedestrianization of the square’s street. This gesture defines a new axis that crosses the area and that apart from acting as a space of passing by or passing time, organizes the rest of the surrounding ambits that fit into the natural topography of the site, eliminating the containment walls and stairs that before structured watertight levels.

Among the different uses which are taking place, there is a programmable outdoor scene and various play areas understood as growth and learning spaces. From the landscape point of view, the project uses a combination of bush vegetation and native clinker, a move that helps to delimit the different environments but at the same time helps to keep up a certain perceptual connection among them, with trees that provide shade and improve the quality of comfort for the users.

The selected plant species help to increase significantly the biodiversity of the environment giving continuity to the strategy already initiated by the municipal government.

Place

Premià de Mar

[28,071 inhabitants]

Scale of the project

Neighborhood

Public space

Type of project

Urban Strategies

Citizen cooperation

Public space design

Duration

Collaborative Diagnosis:

6 months [2016]

Urban planning project:

6 months [2017]

Site management:

6 mesos [2018]

Promoter

Barcelona Provincial Council,

City Hall of Premià de Mar

Team

*estel (Arnau Boix, Alba

Domínguez, Marc Deu )

MonoDestudio, Laia Vilaubí,

Pere Santos, Ingenieros

asociados SA, Roger

Bancells, Alarona Tècnics

Collaborated

Neighbors of Premià,

Local entities and

associations,

Municipal Children’s Council

of Premià de Mar

Study

Read the full report at issuu

Featured project

Study for the Incorporation of the gender perspective in the implementation and design of municipal facilities in Barcelona

Diagrama-del-context-de-l’equipament-públic

Diagrama-que-recull-la-classificació-dels-criteris-generals-i-els-criteris-transversals-i-exteriors-

pe1906_Sessions-participatives-amb-agents-municipals

Public space and municipal facilities – which are part of this space of public use – are not gender-neutral. There is a gender gap in the use of municipal services and facilities. In other words, women and men experience the city and make differential use of municipal services and facilities, depending on traditional roles and gender inequalities that derive from them and condition their daily lives.

This study aims to incorporate a gender perspective in the design, implementation, and management of facilities in the city of Barcelona. Specifically, the study seeks to help reverse the gender gap in the use of municipal services and facilities and contribute to (re)thinking these spaces to make them more inclusive and egalitarian.

In this sense, the following are offered:

Recommendations to incorporate a gender perspective and carry out a feminist transformation of existing municipal facilities.
Recommendations to incorporate a gender perspective in newly constructed municipal facilities.
Specific recommendations for a feminist transformation of municipal restrooms, changing rooms, and nurseries.

With this in mind, seven types of municipal facilities are analyzed:

Sports facilities
Youth facilities
Children’s facilities
Facilities for the elderly
Social care and inclusion facilities
Commercial facilities
Cultural facilities, including libraries

For each type of facility, particular elements, both interior and exterior, are studied that potentially may generate differential use by gender or different user experiences. The objective is to identify possible obstacles and discriminations and propose alternatives to reverse them from a gender perspective.

Place

Barcelona

[1,620,343 inhabitants]

Scale

Municipal

Type of project

Urban Strategies

Urban pedagogy

Duration

24 months [2019-2021]

Promoter

Barcelona City Council’s

Department of Gender

Services and Times Policies

Team

*estel (Alba Domínguez Ferrer,

Konstantina Chrysostomou,

Marc Deu Ferrer, Arnau Boix i

Pla)

Ana Paricio

Collaborators

Municipal agents (Departament

de Transversalitat de Gènere,

Departament de Prospectiva –

Model Urbà – d’Ecologia Urbana,

Institut Municipal de Persones

amb Discapacitat, Departament

d’Atenció Social a la Família i la

Infància, Departament de

Joventut, Coordinació de l’Espai

Jove Garcilaso, Institut

Municipal Barcelona Esports –

Direcció de Serveis

d’Instal·lacions i Obres, Punt

d’Informació i Atenció a les

Dones, Institut de Cultura de

Barcelona, Direcció de Cultura de

Proximitat)

Study

Read the full study at bcnroc

Press

Naves do Metrosidero

38_PE 1801_ACM_ACorunya_01_navesdometrosidero

Naves do Metrosidero is a recently renovated municipal facility of A Coruña City Council. The intention of the Council of Participation and Democratic Innovation was to turn it into a resource for young people from all over the city, and to decide in a participative way, its uses and management. Thus, the cooperative process for the redaction of the Extended Project of Use and Management for the Naves do Metrosidero.

The basis for its redaction was a participatory process consisted of 8 open meetings for all citizens (particularly youngsters) and to which a committed representation of municipal officials was added. Likewise, the document includes the perspective of 36 educational centers of the city, from working sessions with the teaching staff and direct contributions from students.

The conclusions of the work stated that the new Naves do Metrosidero should be a meeting place for A Coruña youth. A place of reference where young people can simply be, spend time, and carry out activities that actually do not have a place enabled or legitimized in the street, in the neighborhood, or in the city. In order for this to happen, youngsters, have the vocation (but not the obligation) of transforming these activities into projects individuals, collective’s or community’s, which can be deployed even beyond the premises of the Naves.

Depending on the links that are created between the users and their “way of life”, the equipment will have a different way of working. Broadly speaking, each of the Naves is characterized according to its “state of being”: Naves 2, the solid-state (co-management spaces); Naves 3, the liquid state (programmable spaces, with scheduled activities); and Naves 4, the gaseous state (spaces for free use, without programming).

Place

A Coruña

[244,850 inhabitants]

Scale

Municipal

Type of project

Urban Strategies

Citizen cooperation

Duratio

10 months [2018]

Promoter

Municipality of A Coruña,

Department of Participation and

Democratic Innovation

Team

*estel (Arnau Boix, Konstantina

Chrysostomou, Alba Domínguez)

MonoD estudio, Verónica

Méndez

Collaborators

Technical team of the Concello da

Coruña

People and entities attending

Participatory

Meetings Teaching staff and

students participating in

Xuntanzas Escolares

Presentation

Check the presentation at Prezi

Study

Read the full at report

Press

The empty spaces of La Llacuna

Given the existence of a series of empty premises in the municipality of La Llacuna, and with the desire to activate these resources, this project is proposed as a strategic document for municipal revitalization through temporarily activating these premises and other disused spaces; such as vacant lots or abandoned buildings. Specifically, we worked with the intention that the proposed temporary uses could become permanent.

The work process was structured around the following work axes: urban and territorial, social, economic, use, and legal. This multisectional approach made it possible to propose comprehensive reactivation strategies, so that, based on the network of spaces for collective use in the municipality, the “dormant” community capacities and opportunities of La Llacuna could be successfully activated.

Parallel to the analysis by axes, on the one hand, the cooperative carried out the mapping and inventory of empty premises and other disused spaces in La Llacuna. And on the other hand, the list of activities covered the needs detected in the municipality. In this way, it was possible to evaluate the best activation opportunities and in which locations it was convenient to test them.

The cooperative created numerous activities for the project, and they include: (1) the proposals to create affordable housing for people with economic difficulties; (2) the creation of an Environmental Resources Center that would incorporate both waste management and pedagogy on recycling and information on the natural spaces of the territory; (3) the qualification of areas for motorhomes; and (4) the promotion of a cultural festival linked to the history of La Llacuna or the facilitation of a progressive facility for young people.

The document proposes strategies to implement these activities in specific empty spaces of the municipality, considering their location, size, and state of conservation. It is not an executive or final project but rather a work tool for the political team and technicians of La Llacuna and its inhabitants. Based on the detailed files of each space analyzed and each proposed activity, and following recommendations and strategic criteria, the agents of the territory choose to launch the most convenient initiatives for everyone.

Place

La Llacuna

[917 inhabitants]

Scale

Municipal

Type of project

Urban strategies

Duration

10 months [2021]

Promoter

Provincial Deputation of

Barcelona

Municipality of La Llacuna

Team

*estel (Arnau Boix i Pla,

Konstantina Chrysostomou,

Marc Deu Ferrer, Alba

Domínguez Ferrer)

Ara Muñío

Enric Burgstaller

Pere Mogas

Raimon Soler

Mireia Peris

Collaborators

Technical and political team

from the City Council

Featured project

Participatory Processes for Teenage and Youth Citizens of Barcelona

The Participatory Process of the Adolescent Citizenship of Barcelona, during two consecutive academic years, offers teenagers and educational centers a project where they can approach the participatory culture of their municipality. They can express what worries or bothers them about the city and district where they live, and propose actions that, from their point of view, would improve coexistence.

The City Council supports this project in order to expand communication channels towards this group, through which they can listen, explain the actions that are already taking place in the city and that respond to some of their concerns, and receive first-hand the needs and proposals that this group considers, which are often forgotten in the planning of cities and neighborhoods.

Thus, a space is offered where adolescent citizens can exchange points of view and concerns about their city and the district where they live, finding common ground and stimulating teamwork to build a set of proposals that improve their experience as adolescents in Barcelona or the respective district.

This process has been carried out through high schools, combining face-to-face sessions in the schools themselves or municipal spaces, and online sessions that offered greater flexibility in attendance and participation.

As an added value, throughout the process, the technical and political team works to listen to the work done by the adolescents, providing them with feedback: informing them of existing initiatives or explaining why they would not be viable, as well as committing to making some of the proposals presented a reality.

Some of the results that have been achieved with this process, in its two editions, include improving communication between the City Council (both at the city and district level) and adolescent citizens, seeking the best channel through which to convey the improvements that they already promote, as well as informing participants of existing formal spaces (assemblies, etc.) in which they could already participate.

In this line, the way has also been opened for political and technical representatives of the district to be closer to the reality of secondary schools, thus improving the resolution of specific needs or collaborations.

Some improvements have also been proposed and executed in the city, such as the installation of sports practice elements in open courtyards that respond to the current needs of the participants, or the creation of a map of existing public sports facilities in the district, with the location and type of resources available.

In conclusion, the adolescent citizenship involved in the process, in both editions, valued the experience very positively, as it allowed them to make political figures a little more real and to understand first-hand how they could participate in the political and social life of their city and district.

Place

Barcelona

[1,620,343 inhabitants]

Escala

Municipal

Type of project

Citizen cooperation

Duration

1st edition (2020-2021)

2nd edition (curs 2021-2022)

Impulsores

Municipality of Barcelona,

Institut Municipal d’Educació

de Barcelona and Direcció de

Serveis de Democràcia Activa

Team

*estel (Arnau Boix i Pla, Oriol

Serra Ureta, Roser García

Piqué, Konstantina

Chrysostomou, Alba

Dominguez Ferrer, Marc Deu i

Ferrer)

Descoberta

Espai Coneix

Nadal Villena

Collaborators

Adolescent and teenage

citizens and educators linked

to the Escola Sant Felip Neri,

Escola Pia Nostra Senyora,

Escolàpies Llúria, Institut

XXVena Olimpíada, Escola

Joan Pelegrí, Escola Paideia,

Institut Les Corts, Institut

Santa Teresa de Lisieux,

Institut Menéndez i Pelayo,

Escola Pia Balmes, Institut

Gravi, Institut Vila de Gràcia,

Escola Vida Montserrat,

Escola Regina Carmeli,

Escola Especial Mare de Déu

de Montserrat, Escola Virolai,

Institut Escola Trinitat Nova,

Institut Escola El Til·ler,

Institut Príncep de Viana,

Escola Gavina, Escola FEDAC

Sant Andreu, Institut Infanta

Isabel d’Aragó i Institut Barri

Besòs.

Presentation

Watch the presentation at

YouTube

Press

Socio-Territorial Analysis in the Urban Landscape Study of Sants

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The “Human Landscape of Sants” project is part of the Urban Landscape Study of Sants and aims to analyze and improve public space and quality of life in the district of Sants, Barcelona.

The project’s methodology is divided into two working groups: direct and indirect participation. Direct participation includes preliminary conversations with the involved stakeholders, such as technicians from the 4 neighborhoods, and citizen debates with individuals and local entities linked to the project. On the other hand, indirect participation is based on the observation of urban dynamics and fieldwork.

The project’s scope focuses on the district of Sants, which includes the neighborhoods of Sants, Badal, La Bordeta, and Hostafrancs. The project seeks to understand the collective identity of the people living in this area, highlighting the strong social network and the sense of community belonging.

The project also aims to analyze the structuring elements that shape everyday life in public spaces. Key spaces and facilities, such as parks, squares, and other meeting places, are identified, as well as the importance of activities carried out in these spaces. The diversity of uses and the presence of people of different ages, genders, and cultures are observed.

Additionally, a study is conducted on the typology of public spaces and streets in the area, emphasizing transit areas and neighborhood boundaries. The use of public space and its functionality are analyzed.

Finally, the perception of comfort, autonomy, and safety in public spaces is evaluated. The distribution of space, bicycle infrastructure, accessibility for people with disabilities, and vehicle speed are observed. Climate protection, the presence of urban greenery and water surfaces, lighting, and visibility are also considered. Overall, the space is identified as safe and inclusive, but there are areas with social conflicts that are highlighted.

Place

Barcelona

[1,620,343 inhabitants]

Scale

District

Type of project

Urban Strategies

Citizen cooperation

Duration

10 months [2022-2023]

Promoter

Municipality of Barcelona

Institut del Paisatge Urbà

(Urban Landscape Institute)

Team

B2B Arquitectes (Jordi

Bellmunt, Agata Buscemi)

Irbis, *estel (Konstantina

Chrysostomou,Marc Deu),

Fàtima López, Montserrat

Mercadé, Veclus S.L.

Collaborators

Technicians of the

neighborhoods: Sants, La

Bordeta, Sants-Badal,

Hostafrancs

Neighborhood entities and

collectives: Sants, La Bordeta,

Sants-Badal, Hostafrancs

project

Gender perspective and participation consultancy in the East-West pedestrian routes project of Cabanyal

Gender urban planning places everyday life at the center and provides an inclusive vision to address the needs of the neighborhood’s residents. The goal is for the proposal to resolve the current urban inequalities and meet the needs of men and women equally, without discrimination based on gender or any other factors such as economic, origin, age, functional diversity, etc. The proposed urban transformation aims to create new spaces that will serve as the physical support for future social uses. Therefore, it is essential to analyze and design them while considering the actions people perform in their daily lives and embracing their diversity.

In this regard, several actions have been taken to incorporate this perspective into the project:

Direct and ongoing guidance to the project team in decision-making.
Analysis of gender-related documents in the territory provided by the administration or identified by the team.
Group interviews: To present and discuss the gender-focused project approach and criteria, review previously identified relevant documents, and include others that the participants deem important.

The guidance includes the main conclusions derived from the gender analysis affecting the project’s scope, and it outlines the project’s work lines and strategies that address the integration of the gender perspective.

Place

Valencia

[1.923.000 inhabitants]

Scale

Neighborhood

Type of project

Citizen cooperation

Public space design

Duration

3 months [2022]

Promoter

Municipality of Valencia

EDUSI Cabanyal – Canyamelar

– Cabo de Francia

European Regional

Development Fund

Team

*estel (Alba Domínguez

Ferrer, Arnau Boix Pla,

Konstantina Chrysostomou,

Marc Deu Ferrer)

PEÑIN ARQUITECTOS, SLP

Collaborators

Cabanyal Neighborhood

Neighborhood Union

Feminist Assembly

Brúfol Association

Cabanyal-Canyamelar

Neighborhood Association

From the Courtyard to the

Neighborhood

Santiago Apostol School

project

Exhibition: 50 Years of Women’s Football in Manresa. The Women’s Struggle in the World of Sports

Exhibition: 50 Years of Women's Football in Manresa.
The Women's Struggle in the World of Sports

“Sports have historically been predominantly practiced by men. Despite being more than half of the world’s population, women have had to earn the right to participate in sports. In Manresa, fifty years ago, a group of girls decided to play football when it was still considered a men’s sport, initially to raise some money for their end-of-year trip, and later as part of a team: SOFFMIC, which competed in the I Women’s Football Championship of Catalonia, Pernod Cup. Taking advantage of this anniversary, the exhibition traces the history of women’s sports in Manresa from the 1970s to the present…”

This is the introduction that opens the exhibition, which goes beyond commemorating fifty years of women’s football in Manresa. It seeks to showcase many pioneering Manresean women in various sports to the present day and also challenges the exhibition’s visitors to consider whether the progress made in recent years is enough to achieve gender equality in the world of sports.

This project has designed the exhibition layout and has conceptualized all the materials collected by the Women’s Group FF 1970-1971 to create a temporary exhibition with the goal of visibility, raising awareness, and, above all, prompting the audience to reflect. The ultimate intention is for the visitor to be more than just a passive observer but an active participant in the exhibition, using mechanisms of participation and interaction with the materials used.

Place

Manresa

[77.452 inhabitants]

Scale

Municipal

Type of project

Urban pedagogy

Duration

6 months [2021-2022]

Promoter

Women’s Group FF 1970-1971

(Àngels Arrufat Dalmau,

Mercè Maeso Delgado, Cloti

Morales Coca, Núria Zueras

Avellana)

Municipality of Manresa

Team

*estel (Alba Domínguez Ferrer)

Muntant Arquitectura (Clara

Casas Arrufat)

Collaborators

Women’s Group FF 1970-1971,

SIAD, El Casino Library,

Women’s and LGTB+ Affairs

Council, Sports Council, Culture

Council, Manresa Comarcal

Archive, Porquet Prat Signs,

REMSA, Club Atlético Manresa,

Egiba Gymnastics Club, Manresa

Swimming Club, Manresa Tennis

Club, Gimnàstic Manresa,

Manresa Sports Center, Catalan

Football Federation, SQUADRA,

Montserrat Margarit Costa,

Margarita Martínez Figueras,

Jordi Serra Morales, Foto-Art,

Serra Morales Family. Thanks to

all individuals for providing

photos and information, and to

the media that allowed us to use

the news.

Press

Revitalising Montornès Nord neighborhood

The Pine's Plaza

Plaza Maresme

Study for the Incorporation of the gender perspective in the implementation and design of municipal facilities in Barcelona

Naves do Metrosidero

The empty spaces of La Llacuna

Participatory Processes for Teenage and Youth Citizens of Barcelona

Socio-Territorial Analysis in the Urban Landscape Study of Sants

Gender perspective and participation consultancy in the East-West pedestrian routes project of Cabanyal

Exhibition: 50 Years of Women's Football in Manresa. The Women's Struggle in the World of Sports

Legal Terms – CC *estel

Exhibition: 50 Years of Women's Football in Manresa.
The Women's Struggle in the World of Sports