The residential stock in Spain is made up of 25.7 million homes, of which more than 10 million (55%) need to be rehabilitated because they were built in the 60s and 70s of the last century. Before 1980 there were no regulations that established minimum energy efficiency.
It is an “alarming” diagnosis that requires actions to which other factors are added such as improving accessibility, conservation and functionality. That is, the constitutional right to housing is not valid on its own. A home must also be habitable, dignified and comfortable.
To promote a “culture of building maintenance”, a “culture of rehabilitation” that until now did not exist in Spain, the State Confederation of Neighborhood Associations (CEAV) and the Higher Council of Schools of Spain (CSCAE) have joined forces in the ‘RehabilitAcción Ciudadana’ project, with the aim of promoting the rehabilitation of homes and buildings, “creating spaces for dialogue between neighborhood entities and professionals”, and with the support of the European Climate Foundation (ECF).
From this alliance has emanated the ‘Neighborhood Guide for Rehabilitation’, a timeless document with a friendly and simple language to convey to civil society, to the residents of all neighborhoods in Spain, the need not to leave in background the importance of residential renovations. This collective action is accompanied by a video and information brochures. The guide can be downloaded here.
Its preparation has required significant prior collaborative work, with collection of contributions and consultations. It tries to answer the many doubts and questions that arise before, during and after a rehabilitation process.
It was created to support neighborhood associations, rehabilitation offices and other people and entities dedicated to informing the general population about issues related to the rehabilitation of their residential buildings.
It can also be used by technical or administrative professionals, public administrations or presidencies of communities of owners to have a general idea of what rehabilitation is and how to implement it.
“We must generate a culture of rehabilitation. For this we have to have an informed population, who knows the steps, benefits, obligations and needs of buildings so that they respond appropriately to their needs and to those of the planet that hosts us,” state its authors.
They consider that only through the modernization of buildings “making them healthy, accessible and sustainable” can social cohesion, quality of life and “the boost of the material and emotional value of the consolidated neighborhoods of our city” be promoted.
The headquarters of the Toledo Demarcation of the Official College of Architects of Castilla La Mancha (COACM), with its dean, Elena Guijarro, as host, has hosted an event of debate and participation for the presentation of the guide, which is “rotating” throughout the country so that it reaches the greatest possible number of cities, towns, neighborhoods, communities of owners and individuals.
From “step by step” to “social sensitivity”
The coordinator of the Network of Rehabilitation Support Offices (ReOAR) and one of the authors of the guide, Elvira López, emphasizes these objectives of the guide but above all on the need to “plan.” “It is not about forcing, but about having a global vision of the needs of a building because that will allow the renovation to be carried out in stages and to address possible emergencies in the future.”
It thus highlights benefits of rehabilitation such as improved health, habitability and accessibility, along with care for the environment. And above all, it emphasizes the need to go “step by step”, something that the guide includes to facilitate decision-making.
It is endorsed by Manuel Armal, president of the Association of Zaragoza Neighborhood Federations (FABZ), co-author and promoter of this document: “Organized civil society has started working outside of public administrations to clarify this issue. There is a lot of background noise, a lot of actors, a lot of guides with very technical language. We needed to clarify, reach out to neighbors,” he argues.
It also refers to the increase in “social sensitivity” for rehabilitation. As he points out, it is growing, but it must also be accompanied by knowledge of vulnerable situations: “How is someone who barely has resources going to rehabilitate their house?”
Margarita García, vice president of the State Confederation of Neighborhood Associations (CEAV), focuses on this last issue. “Our buildings are collapsing, and the lack of rehabilitation generates, in addition to collapses and even deaths, situations of anguish and uprooting in families.”
That is why the joint work of architects and civil society stands out, the “fusion of technicians and the neighborhood movement.” “Housing is a crucial issue, because it is a right, but it must be a right accompanied by dignity, a full life,” he emphasizes.
The need for comfort in all homes with the lowest possible expense, together with an improvement of spaces and environments, are “fundamental”, but also the support and advice to citizens. “Otherwise, we will find ourselves with health problems, with tragedies that can be avoided. Improving buildings is improving society as a whole.”
From the Higher College of the Colleges of Architects of Spain, its president, Marta Vall-llossera, also calls for the expansion of the “culture of rehabilitation”, highlighting that in Spain the percentage of the elderly population that needs “livable” homes continues to increase. ”.
You have to avoid doing things quickly so you don’t have to undo them later.
Along with this, it is committed to a “comprehensive vision” and not to “patch” these projects, but rather to approach actions through prior planning that avoids “doing quickly so as not to have to undo later.”
In this regard, he has asked for the full involvement of public administrations. A call to which the general director of Housing of Castilla-La Mancha, Inés Sandoval, responds. The latter highlights the need to do pedagogy on rehabilitation “without forgetting the social perspective.”
Although this autonomous community has been a “pioneer” in the implementation of Rehabilitation Offices and in the processing of aid, Sandoval recognizes that “we have a long way to go” in the face of new “very demanding” European directives. What’s more, he anticipates that the regional government has already planned for new aid “beyond” the Funds. Next Generationspecifically allocated to the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).
While it continues to make its neighborhood guide known throughout Spain, the “RehabilitAcción Ciudadana” project already has its next initiative ready, also with the joint action of architects and neighbors: a manual on the Existing Building Book, a document that compiles all the technical and administrative information about an existing building built before the year 2000, and which is necessary to request rehabilitation aid.
